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A "How-To" Guide in Preparing Abstracts and Poster Presentations
* University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania; and Correspondence: Correspondence: Joseph I. Boullata, PharmD, RPh, BCNSP, University of Pennsylvania, School of Nursing, 418 Curie Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6096. Electronic mail may be sent to boullata{at}nursing.upenn.edu. The preparation of an abstract or poster to share information from a project or case report with colleagues is a professional goal for many nutrition support practitioners. This paper provides an approach to help practitioners prepare an abstract for submission and subsequently a poster for presentation at a meeting. A nutrition support question that required collecting and evaluating information, or a unique patient case or case series, can serve as the focus of an abstract and subsequent poster. The professional meeting selected should be appropriate for the abstract topic, and the authors should closely adhere to the organization's abstract submission guidelines. The well-prepared abstract will then serve as the outline for the poster content; the visual aspect of the poster is also important to effectively communicate the information to colleagues at the meeting. Adequate time is required to prepare both the abstract and the poster in order to fittingly reflect the value of the information. Efforts in preparing the abstract will be worthwhile once the abstract has been accepted by reviewers for a poster session at the meeting. Likewise, the effort in preparing the poster in advance allows the presenter to enjoy the poster session and discuss the project with colleagues. In nutrition support practice, questions arise on a regular basis that may require collecting information, evaluating the information, and formulating a decision. This could be a specific patient case that requires unique management, a group of patients in which a common situation needs to be addressed, or a more global nutrition support problem that is identified and corrected, perhaps even as a quality improvement project. Although part of the daily job, this work should be shared with others in the field, an essential professional goal for nutrition support practitioners. The preparation of an abstract or poster is usually additional work on top of day-to-day responsibilities; therefore, persistence is required to meet that goal. This paper will provide an approach to allow even the newest practitioners to prepare an abstract for submission and subsequently a poster for presentation.
Of course, this assumes that a nutrition support–related question was asked, investigated, and answered. The first step is to reduce to writing what it was that you did. What was the question? How did you go about answering the question? What were the findings? How will this change your practice or that of others? Who was involved? The decision to prepare an abstract of your work should include all individuals involved in the project.
First, identify the professional society at whose meeting the presentation of your findings would be most suitable. Next, closely read and evaluate the abstract submission guidelines for the meeting. Make special note of the submission format, word limits, space constraints, and the deadline. Most organizations request that abstracts be submitted online, and some require that a processing fee accompany the abstract. Typically, the online submission software package provided by the organization will allow you to cut and paste, or upload, your final version from a word-processing program. Word limits exist for a reason, and if the abstract is to be accepted, the length should remain within that limit. Excessive use of abbreviations is not the best way to stay within the word count; instead, make the message more concise. Consider using a simple table or figure, if permitted, in place of more text. If abbreviations are not restricted, avoid abbreviating >2 terms in a 300-word abstract. Obviously, the abstract needs to be carefully thought out and each draft reviewed. This will require the input of each person listed as an author. Leaving the preparation of the abstract until the last few days before the deadline is not the best approach to a project that you value. The time spent putting the abstract together should pay off later when it comes to preparing a poster or manuscript. The abstract should be carefully structured, even if not required by the organization.1 The title should be concise and represent your main message. Each author listed should accept public responsibility for the integrity and content of the abstract. Determining authorship should be based on contributions to the conception, design, implementation, or data acquisition and interpretation of the project. It is difficult to imagine a project in which only a sole author is involved. The remainder of the abstract may differ, depending on the type of work involved in the project. According to a survey of nurses presenting posters at 2 conferences, Moore and colleagues2 reported that 69% of the respondents displayed posters that described a clinical project, with many of the remainder describing clinical interventions (case reports). The differences in abstract structure between a project and case report are described below. The preparation of scientific research abstracts differ, as discussed elsewhere in this issue.3
Project
Case Report If the abstract describes a case report or case series, it may contain 4 sections: introduction (or objective), case presentation, discussion, and conclusion (see Figure 2).5,6 The introduction presents the subject matter or defines the problem. The case presentation section is a succinct description of the case (totally deidentified), beginning with pertinent patient demographics, history, complaints, and presentation. The history may include allergies, medications, organ function, surgical procedures, anatomic landmarks, and biochemical or functional markers, as applicable to the case. The discussion provides a comparison of your case(s) with what is (or is not) already available in the literature. This is also the place to emphasize, objectively if possible, the temporal or cause-effect relationship, if one exists. In 1–2 sentences, the conclusion should either provide a specific recommendation for practice or for further research.
A few additional points are worth keeping in mind for the abstract. If permitted within the abstract submission guidelines, use proportional font and fully justify the text to both margins. Of course, be sure to check spelling and grammar; and use leading/trailing zeros appropriately if presenting numerical data. If listing any proprietary products (access device, nutrition formulation, or medication), provide the generic term for each. Make any required disclosures up front as appropriate for the project.
One must consider the possibility that an abstract may not be accepted. This is not necessarily due to the lack of effort in preparing an abstract. Professional organizations receive numerous abstracts, and acceptance by the review committee may be based on need and perceived clinical relevance. Therefore, it should be made clear within the abstract that the content contributes additional information to current published literature. Another common reason for abstract rejection may be that the abstract was not submitted to the most appropriate professional organization. If your abstract is not accepted, consider reworking it or submitting it to an organization more suitable for the topic.
With the excitement of learning that reviewers found your abstract valuable enough to accept for a poster session at a meeting, there comes the realization that you must prepare a product for presentation that will provide a visual means for communicating information. If you put the time into making a professional abstract, then the poster should not be too difficult. However, it will still take time to prepare.2 The preparation of a successful poster can be thought of in 2 aspects: the content and the display.
Content
Display
Given that most people are drawn to the upper center portion of a poster, this is the ideal spot for a concise, yet professionally attractive, title. The title, along with author names, author affiliations, and possibly an institutional logo, make up the heading of the poster. Any relevant figures and legends are best placed centrally. Because the English language reads left to right and tracks downward, it makes the most sense to set the flow of the poster beginning at the upper left and ending at the lower right portion. The poster layout often resembles 3–5 columns of information (Figure 3). The convention is to have the audience read the poster in columns as you would a journal article. Have at least 1 other person unfamiliar with your work go over the text to identify any problems with content and clarity. Consider using uppercase letters, bolded font, or underlining to give emphasis only where you feel it is necessary. The font of the text on the poster should be sufficient that the title and major headings can be read from 10 feet away and the remainder can be easily read from a distance of 3–5 feet. A good rule is to avoid any font <24 pt in size.8 If the poster is completed by a professional company, they will adjust the font size so that it best fits the specified poster dimensions. Additionally, keep the number of different colors to a minimum and use complimentary colors within the text so as not to detract from the message of your work. While it may be exhilarating to prepare the poster in the final day or two before you attend the meeting, it is best to plan on completing the product at least 1 week in advance to account for any unforeseen events. Be sure to have at least 1 additional person unfamiliar with your work go over the poster before the final print. This will allow you to identify typographical errors, as well as problems with layout. During transit, make sure that your poster is with you at all times; the rest of your luggage is always replaceable. Now that it is more common to have professional companies prepare the large 1-piece posters, it may be a challenge to transport your poster to a distant meeting. If the poster is large, some airlines may require that it be checked with your luggage. It is wise to call the airline ahead of time and find out their policies. Sometimes the poster can be stored in the overhead compartment, or you may have to reserve a spot in the front closet of the airplane. This will help you to determine how to design your poster. Another option is to send the poster by overnight carrier to your destination hotel or conference center. In this case, be sure to carry either a backup 8 1/2-inch-x-11-inch copy of the poster or of each element in the poster. Finally, be sure to take pushpins and tape with you, regardless of whether these will purportedly be supplied at the meeting site. Display (and remove) the poster according to the instructions for the meeting. Consider making a concise handout available. By providing supplemental handouts, you may be more likely to generate ongoing discussion and even future collaboration while reducing simple requests for further information.7 It is also helpful to have your business cards available so that you can exchange them as you network with colleagues. If someone does request additional information and you offer to contact them directly, jot down a reminder of the question on the back of their card and make sure to follow up in a timely manner. In 1 study, only 29% of presenters replied to requests for additional information and took over 30 days to respond.7 E-mailing information is the most efficient method to contact individuals who had questions. Although it is important to make eye contact with visitors to your poster and engage in discussion, do not badger them while they are reading.8 In keeping with the rules of 10, a list of 10 simple rules for a good overall poster presentation has been suggested (Table 1).8 Additionally, enjoy the poster session and be prepared to discuss your project with your colleagues; after all, that was the purpose of all your effort!
The authors acknowledge the support of Hayley Johnson, administrative coordinator in the Office of Research at the University of Pennsylvania, for reviewing sections of this manuscript. 1 McCabe LL, McCabe ERB. How to Succeed in Academics. San Diego, CA: Academic Press;2000 . 2 Moore LW, Augspurger P, O'Brien King M, Proffitt C. Insights on the poster preparation and presentation process. Appl Nurs Res. 2001;14:100 –104.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]3 Van Way CW III. Writing a scientific paper. Nutr Clin Pract. 2007;22:636 -640.
Nutrition in Clinical Practice, Vol. 22, No. 6,
641-646 (2007) This article has been cited by other articles:
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The Abstract
