Poster Judging : Cal NERDS' Faculty Centric Research Poster Judging Method

Summary

Caroline Kaine and Professor Rudy Ortiz discuss faculty judging of posters at scientific conferences. They emphasize the importance of poster composition, clarity, and the student's ability to articulate their science. The video highlights key features of effective poster design, such as layout, color scheme, and clear conclusions. Additionally, it showcases an evaluation with student Steven Chavez, focusing on his project's rationale, scientific communication, and future work.

Takeaways

• 📈 **Clarity in Poster Composition**: The script emphasizes the importance of a clear and well-organized poster layout that is easy to read and logically structured.
• 🎓 **Student's Understanding**: The student's ability to contextualize and clearly describe their science is crucial, even to judges outside their discipline.
• 🏅 **Communication Skills**: The student's communication and professionalism during the poster session are key components of the judging process.
• 🖼️ **Poster Layout**: A good poster should have an open layout with clear sections and a logical flow, making it easy for anyone to understand the content.
• 🌈 **Color Scheme**: While seemingly trivial, the color scheme of a poster is important as it affects the poster's readability and visual appeal.
• 📊 **Use of Graphs and Figures**: Graphs and figures should be clear, well-marked, and not too numerous to ensure they are easily understood from a distance.
• 📝 **Future Work**: Outlining future work in the poster shows a forward-thinking approach and can be a point of interest for judges.
• 🙋‍♂️ **Student Interaction**: The interaction between the student and the judges is a significant part of the judging process, where the student's understanding and presentation skills are assessed.
• 🔍 **Detailing Methodology**: The poster should clearly detail the methodology used in the research to allow judges to understand the scientific process.
• 📋 **Stickers for Organization**: Using stickers with student names and topics helps in keeping track of which posters have been judged and by whom.
• 📝 **Acknowledgements**: Properly acknowledging contributors to the research project is a sign of professionalism and good scientific practice.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of faculty judging posters at scientific conferences?

The main purpose is to evaluate the quality of the students' work, including the poster layout, the student's ability to explain their science, and their general communication and professionalism skills.

How does faculty-centered poster judging work?

In faculty-centered poster judging, faculty members choose which posters to judge. They are given stickers with the student's name and topic to ensure clarity and organization in the judging process.

What are the three main categories that faculty look for when judging posters?

The three main categories are poster composition and clarity, the student's ability to put the science in context and describe it clearly, and the student's general communication and professionalism skills.

Why is the student's ability to describe their science considered more important than the poster layout itself?

The student's ability to describe their science is crucial because it demonstrates their understanding and communication of the research, which is the primary feature of the poster session.

What features contribute to a good poster layout?

A good poster layout should be open, well-organized, easy to read, logically ordered, and include clear bullet points, marked graphs, and a concise series of conclusions.

Why is it important for a poster to be understandable to someone outside the discipline?

It is important because judges at conferences can come from various disciplines, and the ability to convey scientific concepts to a general scientific audience is a key aspect of scientific communication.

What advice is given regarding the size of figures in a poster?

Figures should be large enough to be seen from a distance, such as 3-4 feet away, to accommodate busy meeting conditions where judges may not be able to stand close to the poster.

What is the significance of the future work outlined in a poster?

Outlining future work shows the direction of ongoing or planned research, demonstrating the student's understanding of the broader implications and next steps in their scientific field.

How does the presence of acknowledgements affect the poster?

Properly acknowledging contributors and sources of support is important for academic integrity and transparency, and it can also reflect positively on the student's professionalism.

What happens when a judge is finished evaluating a poster?

The judge places dots at the upper right-hand corner of the poster to indicate that it has been judged, providing feedback to both the student and others in the poster area.

What is the role of the student in the judging process?

The student plays a central role by presenting their work, answering questions, and demonstrating their understanding of the science, which is a critical part of the judging process.