As you start preparing your poster we offer some guidelines for your consideration. These guidelines go beyond the artistic and mechanical work required for creating and printing your poster. Please note – Your poster can be any size as long as the max dimension is 48 x 48 inches.
Before we dive into the mechanics of a poster you should ask yourself:
Who am I as a data researcher?
- I am primarily focused on collecting and/or using data to answer questions. I am a data-driven researcher.
- I am primarily focused on developing tools that can be used for manipulating and analyzing and data. I am a (data) tools developer.
While some of you will straddle the two extreme cases above, most of you will likely fit easily into one or the other group.
I am a data driven researcher: Prepare a poster that is focused on your data and what you want to learn from your data. Do not focus on the latest tool(s) you downloaded last night, even if it sort of worked. Instead, focus on describing your data and formulate critical questions you would like to investigate using your data (or other data you may want to collect or get a hold of). Think of this as “have data, looking for tools to answer questions.”
I am a (data) tools developer: Prepare a poster that is focused on what types of questions your tool(s) can help answer and how the tool(s) can be used to analyze data. You should focus on what the tool can do, rather than how it does it. Don’t focus on theory, proofs and/or corner cases – in all likelihood only a very small number of attendees will appreciate it at this gathering. Think of this as “have tool, looking for data and questions to answer.” Use examples that highlight the unique power of the tool(s).
Poster Preparation Guidelines:
- Poster should be no larger than 48-inches by 48-inches (this is an absolute requirement). Your poster can be smaller than 48 x 48.
- Great PowerPoint poster templates can be found at: http://www.posterpresentations.com/html/free_poster_templates.html
- We are sorry, but we cannot offer poster printing services. The following print shops should be able to print your poster for you:
- Digital Media Commons (located in Fondren Library)
- University Copy Center (located inside the Rice Student Center)
See the posters submitted at the 2015 & 2016 Data Science Meetup
We are aware that not all disciplines utilize poster presentations to showcase their research. If you are unsure about how to prepare a poster based on your research you can reach out to the Center for Written, Oral and Visual Communication. They would be happy to meet with you individually to provide guidance and feedback related to poster preparation.