Making presentations Psych 231 Research Methods in Psychology

Making presentations Psych 231: Research Methods in Psychology

n Presenting your research n n n Posters Talks Papers Presentations

n To present your work/theory/research n Get feedback • It is an opportunity for peers to ask you questions about your work • For you to ask them questions n n You want your audience to walk away remembering a few key points So your goal is to be as clear as possible Why do presentations?

Introduction of the issue n n Hourglass Broad Background information n Design n Results n shape n n Specific hypotheses Specifics of your study Interpret the results General Conclusions Broad Rough sketch of a presentation

n Consider your audience - who are they, what do they want, what do they already know n Start collecting the things that you think that you’ll need - graphs, tables, pictures, examples, data analyses, etc. n Determine the key points that you want them to remember n n Camping trip analogy n n n focus your presentation on these points Your initial pack usually has too much stuff Need to figure out what to take out Practice, rehearse, and then practice again Preparation

n n Stick to the hourglass shape for content Balance of text and figures n n Use bullet points Give example stimuli Use large enough font to read from 6 feet away End with 3 or 4 key “take home” points Poster content

Title Authors and affiliation Introduction Results • Not a lot of detail • Just the main points • Hypotheses & predictions • Graphs/tables • Bullet points of main results Methods • Not a lot of detail • just the main points • Participants • Design • IVs & DVs • Examples of stimuli Conclusions • 3 or 4 take home points • Potential limitations References • If you cite something give the full reference

Title Authors and affiliation Introduction Conclusions Methods Results References

n n Initial sketch/outline Rough layout n n n Balance (text/pictures, data/conclusions) Typography Movement Simplicity Final layout Brief checklist for the poster

The pen is mightier than the brush: Using mnemonics Leon Da. Vinci and Bill Shakespear Illinois State University Introduction Conclusions • Remembering things is often a challenge in everyday life. “What was I supposed to get at the grocery store? ” Results • Stimulus type matters: participants remembered words better than pictures (Cutting, 2000) pictures words • stimulus type: pictures/words • use of mnemonics We predicted: • mnemonic devices will help memory for both pictures and words • effect larger for words than pictures Percent recall We examined two factors • Use of mnemonic devices helps memory performance • Potential limitations mnemonics No mnemonics Methods • 900 native English speakers • 2 x 2 between groups design • Measured the percent correctly recalled items from a free recall procedure • 24 pictures and words pictures • main effect of stimulus type • main effect of mnemonic • no interaction References books frog Cutting J. C. (2000). Finding things in your house. Journal of Memory and Stuff, 17, pg 1 -230.

n n n Arrive early and set up Author(s) stand next to poster Have a short “walk through” presentation ready Answer questions (also ask questions) Handout copies of the poster available (sometimes), or a request sign-up Presentation of the poster

n Content n Introduction • • n Problem of interest Very brief summary of past research Basic purpose of experiment(s) Hypotheses Method • • Brief but clear Design Materials Procedure (brief) Your posters (our checklist)

n Content cont. n Results • Descriptive statistics • Inferential results n Discussion • Hypothesis rejected or supported • Implication of results • A few take home points n n References Tables and figures • Useful info to reader • Easy to understand Your posters (our checklist)

n Format n n n Overall clarity Organization Font size Figure/text balance Title Authors Your posters (our checklist)

n Research Presentations n n (typically 10 to 30 mins) Paper with respondent Panel Presentation Workshop Different kinds of talks

n Create a logical progression to the talk n n n Hourglass shape Work on the transitions between slides Be brief, but include enough details so that the audience can follow the arguments n Use slides to help simplify/clarify points • Include tables, graphs, pictures, etc. • Don’t just read the slides • but do “walk through” those that need it (e. g. graphs of results) n Be careful of jargon, explain terms (if in fact you really need them) Talk Content

n n n n Make it smooth (lots of practice will help) Watch your speaking rate (again, practice) Maintain eye contact with whole audience Emphasize the key points, make sure that the audience can identify these Point to the slides if it helps Beware jokes, can be a double-edged sword Don’t go over your time Presentation of the talk

n Repeat the question in your own words n n Try not to be nervous n n so that the rest of the audience can hear it to make sure that you understood the question to buy yourself some time to think about the answer you know your study better than anyone else When preparing, try to think of likely questions and prepare answers Dealing with questions

n Preparation n Analyze the audience Choose your main points n etc. n n Prepare the Final Outline n n Construct your “speaking” outline n n fix any problems/loose ends e. g. , the note cards that you’ll read Rehearse, rehearse Checklist for the talk