Presentor Information

CONFERENCE ABSTRACTS (For Papers and Posters)

Since each submitted abstract will be included with the conference materials, we would like for you to critically review your submission to ensure that it includes an adequate description of your research project. We suggest that you consult the publication manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) to inform your revisions. Please make sure that your abstracts are no longer than 250 words and your title is no more than 100 characters.

We need your final title and abstract no later than May 21, 2008 in order for changes to appear in the conference materials.

PAPER PRESENTATION GUIDELINES

A. PAPER SESSION FORMAT

Paper sessions will last 60 minutes or 75 minutes. Within each 60-minute session, there will be two presenters. Each presenter will have 15 minutes to present his or her paper. Within each 75-minute session, there will be three presenters, each of whom will have 15 minutes to present. At the end of the presentations, there will be a 30-minute “break-out period” in which each presenter goes to a different breakout room where audience members ask questions and engage in discussion with the presenter and each other.

B. AUDIO/VISUAL EQUIPMENT

The following audio/visual equipment will be available in the meeting rooms used for paper presentations at the BGCP:

PC compatible computer
LCD projector (for power point presentations)
Screen

C. PAPER PRESENTATION PREVIEW

All final presentations should be emailed to bgcp2008@gmail.com by 12 noon on Wednesday June 4, 2008. This will allow the program committee to organize the presentations before the conference starts. You also should bring a copy of your paper presentation on a USB jump drive/memory stick.

D. SUGGESTIONS WHEN PREPARING YOUR PAPER PRESENTATION

1. In designing your paper presentation, consider the following tips:
   - Use font size large enough to be seen from the back of the room where the presentation will be held. A font size of 20-point or larger is recommended.
   - Use contrasting colors for the text and the background so the text will be easy to read.
   - Avoid cluttering the slides with too much text, text effects or graphics. Your audience should hear what you have to say and not be distracted by a busy screen. We suggest using bulleted short phrases and sentences to convey your message on slides instead of lengthy sentences.
2. Consider adhering to the general “traditional” order of presentation of a study. An example of such format and timing is below:
   a) Brief introduction (statement of problem, relevant background literature, research questions and hypotheses) (4-5 minutes)
   b) Concise description of procedures and methods (2 minutes)
   c) Highlighting key results (5-6 minutes)
   d) Conclusions/Implications/Future Directions (1-2 minutes)
   (This is a general guide, as of course; your papers may differ depending on your specific content and your personal style.)
3. Focus on a few main themes, and avoid unnecessary details and the presentation of too many ideas and conclusions. Your audience can lose your most important findings in the large volume of information presented to them during each complete session.
4. Assume that your audience is intelligent and broadly familiar with psychology, but assume that your audience is NOT necessarily familiar with the particular area of investigation you are discussing. Therefore, be careful that you are not stating key terms, jargon, or acronyms without explaining them clearly, but concisely.
5. Be sure to rehearse your presentation on several occasions to assure that you will complete the presentation in the allotted time (15 minute presentation time). Your adhering to the presentation time limit is essential to allowing sufficient breakout time for in-depth discussion and keeping the conference events on schedule.

E. PRESENTING YOUR PAPER AT THE CONFERENCE

1. Arrive a few minutes prior to your session in order to introduce yourself to the session chair and to become familiar with the audio/visual equipment. A student volunteer will be present and can assist you if needed. (If you are using a PowerPoint presentation, your presentation will be preloaded onto the computer.).
2. Be alert for the signals from the timer. The session timer will give a 12-minute warning so that you can begin to wrap up. Your presentation should end promptly by the 15-minute mark.
   

POSTER PRESENTATION GUIDELINES

A. POSTER SESSION FORMAT

There will be two poster sessions during the conference. Each poster session will be 1-hour long, and all of conference participants are expected to attend the poster sessions. Presenters will have approximately 15 minutes to set up their poster before the poster session begins. Each presenter will be assigned a 4-foot x 6-foot poster board space. Presenters’ poster sizes should not exceed these dimensions. If you plan to print your poster once you arrive in Ann Arbor, please plan to do so before the conference begins on Thursday evening since the conference schedule is very full and everyone is expected to attend all of the events.

B. SUGGESTIONS TO CONSIDER IN PREPARING YOUR POSTER

1. Just like paper presentations, a well-organized poster can be an effective way of sharing your research and ideas. While the way you present your poster information can vary depending on the content of your work and personal style, here are some general guidelines to make a poster more accessible, attractive, and interesting:
   
   Consider structuring your poster similar to papers. Possible headings on scientific posters include:
   - a short abstract,
   - a brief introduction/background,
   - methods and results
   - discussion,
   - references, acknowledgements
   (This is a general guide, as of course, your posters may differ somewhat depending on your specific content and your personal style.)
   
2. One common criticism of posters is that they can be too text-heavy. In this case, too much text can result in the audience spending more time reading and less time interacting with you. The text material included on a poster should be relatively brief. Provide concise overview of significance of work and examples of relevant background literature for your research questions. Consider the placement of a succinct statement of major conclusions.
   The focus of a poster should be on the results, therefore charts, graphs and tables should be emphasized more than wordy text sections. Present only enough data to support your conclusions.
3. Title lettering should be the largest, about 2-3 inches, with subheadings ½ to 1 inch high. For material other than titles and subheadings, capitals and lower-case letters in combination are much easier to read than all capitals. Text materials can be sized as large as 24 points.
4. From 10-15 feet away, the viewer should see an easy-to-read title and an uncluttered, neat arrangement of graphic illustrations and text.
5. Color is generally a matter of taste. Color contrasts can be very effective, so use color to enhance readability and to highlight or distinguish key points or areas of your poster presentation. For instance, featured parts of your poster can be highlighted by the use of warm colors (reds and yellow) or black if the background colors are soft, or use of white or very light shades if the background colors are bright and deep.

Packing
If you know you may be flying, make the poster elements small enough to fall within acceptable carry-on dimensions (generally 17x22 inches; call the airline to be sure) to avoid the panic of lost luggage.

C. SUGGESTIONS FOR DISPLAYING AND PRESENTING YOUR POSTER AT THE CONFERENCE

1. You may have only a short time to set up your display, so prepare in advance. Have these items in a poster emergency kit: tape measure, 9 inch length of string, box of clear push-pins (get longer than standard ones if mounted illustrations are thicker than 1/8 inch), ordinary thumb tacks, roll of double-stick tape, scissors, and glue.
2. Have a sketch/photograph of the poster layout, with positions of a few key components measured off so you know where to place them. Set up a level line, if needed, by tying the string between two push-pins set a measured distance above the bottom of the display board.
3. It is important to know the message that you want to get across and be able to deliver it successfully. Simple, clear language is essential to a successful poster presentation. Before the presentation, a brief 5-10 minute verbal script should be prepared for the poster. It also is useful to try to anticipate questions viewers may have about the various elements of your project. Plan to interact with the audience members viewing your poster, not just let the poster content speak for you.
4. The audience may be interested in having a copy of your poster presentation. Consider bringing copies of your poster to the conference to handout to those visiting your poster. Approximately 30 copies should be sufficient for the BGCP conference.