Presenting your research

Tuesday’s workshop, Teaching Your Peers: Poster Presentation Basics with Tsui Yi Cheah and Laurie Maynell from Faculty and TA Development was a great learning experience. Students looked at both the poster content and design, as well as discussed strategies for oral presentations with various audiences. Here are a few pointers that we picked up:

Poster Content:

• Why is this important/interesting? Why should I care?
• What is the problem/hypothesis that you researched?
• What is the rationale/relevant literature? How does this fit into the discipline?
• What method(s) did you use?
• Did you find a solution/results?
• What is the next step/future research to be?

Poster Design:

• Key information should be easy to read
• There should be an obvious flow pattern
• Will you be present to explain? If not, could someone make sense of it without you?

Assessing the Audience/Engagement Strategies:

• Assess who they are: expert in your topic? Knowdgeable in your field?
• Provide small pieces of information, follow up with questions to assess/confirm clarity, direction
• Let your audience guide the interaction
• Target information to THEIR interests
• Let them move on when they want to
• Find the intersection of your goals with your audience’s needs
• Practice! Practice! Practice!

Tips for the Big Day:

• Name tag on the left
• Have business cards
• Eat before your presentation
• Keep a bottle of water with you
• Dress nicely but comfortably, especially shoes
• Breathe! Relax!

Becoming an expert poster maker and presenter takes time and practice. There are many resources to help you. Here’s a link to many tutorials and examples for students who want to learn more: http://denman.osu.edu/resources.aspx

You can also access handouts from this presentation:

• Poster Components
• Sample Poster Evaluation

Want to polish your skills at an actual poster forum? Consider applying for the Sigma Xi Student Research Conference November 22-23, 2008 in Washington, D.C. The deadline for abstracts is October 15, 2008.

Also, as Dr. Snow mentioned, we will be having an exhibition of poster presentations during our 2nd Annual Undergraduate Research Day on Sunday, October 19th. We're moving forward with the planning, and look out for a call for abstracts very soon!

How's it going? - A message from Dr. Snow

From Dr. Allison Snow, Director of the OSU Undergraduate Research Office

By now, Summer Quarter is more than half over – a good time to take stock of how your research is progressing.

1. Expect Delays

If you are right on schedule, doing exactly what you proposed (or more), this is quite unusual!

It often turns out that the devil is in the details and things take much longer than anticipated. Problem-solving is supposed to be good for you, especially if you have to work independently, but running into too many delays and dead-ends can be frustrating. So, in case you are getting a case of the research blues, here are a few words of encouragement. . .

• If you’re disappointed by the slow pace of your research, consider getting advice and changing your plans so you will have at least a few solid results by the end of Summer Quarter. Most of us are too ambitious and overly optimistic when planning a research project.

• If this applies to you, maybe one of your sub-questions should be elevated to your main question.

  Or maybe you can find a new line of inquiry that will lead to faster progress.

• Keep in mind that when you read a research paper or see a presentation, you rarely find out how much preliminary work led up to the finished project (thank goodness, because this could be dull for the audience!).
• Somewhere, I heard that publications represent the salvaged remains of a major shipwreck, all tidied up to tell a coherent story! This often happens with my own research in biology. To keep from going crazy, I have come to view this experience as “normal.”
• Sometimes, you may not even have a story to tell when your time runs out, in which case you could change your final report to a “progress report.”

Whatever happens, it’s important to persevere, be strategic, and make the best of your situation.

2. Getting the Job Done

Research that is never presented to an audience – as a paper, poster, talk, exhibit, or the like – is not really complete and will not help you nearly as much as presented work. As an undergraduate, you probably have much shorter time period for research than a graduate student or professor, who might take several years to complete a project, often working as part of a team. For you, it’s important to make sure your research is completed and presented to a broader audience before you graduate, ideally before you need letters of recommendation from your professors.

Speaking of presentations, there are many outlets for your work, starting with informal presentations for your peers and professors. Check out the URO website for information about Fall Research Day (October 19th), the Denman Undergraduate Research Forum (in May), and the new student-run online, research journal, JUROS (Journal of Undergraduate Research at Ohio State). Consider writing a thesis and graduating “With Distinction” to add this impressive accomplishment to your academic transcript.

In conclusion, I hope you find your summer research experience to be worthwhile, regardless of how closely it matches your original expectations. You should be very proud to be part of the world-renowned research community at Ohio State!

SURI events this week: 7/28-8/3

Hello, August is practically upon us!

This is your last chance to sign up for Tuesday afternoon's workshop on poster presentations. It's from 4-6pm in 300 Younkin Success Center. Space is limited, so RSVP today.

Wednesday is our staple brown bag lunch. If the weather is wet, come to 60 Page Hall at noon-but we have lucked out all summer so far!

Saturday is our continuing Ultimate Frisbee games outside of Lincoln tower. Meet on the grass fields near Lincoln at 6pm.

Looking for more things to do around Columbus this weekend?

• Wednesday is the start of the annual extravaganza that is the Ohio State Fair. It runs through August 10th, and is within walking distance of campus.
• Saturday is the monthly Gallery Hop located in the Short North (just south of campus). It's completely open to the public, and there are tons of galleries, restaurants, and bars to visit.
• This weekend is the Dublin Irish Festival-one of the biggest in the country. There's plenty of traditional and modern Celtic music and food.

Coming up:
Quiet Rage: a film and research ethics discussion
Tuesday, August 12 at 5pm
110 Page Hall
Dinner is included, so please RSVP to uro@osu.edu

Resumes and Personal Statements

In the last couple weeks, we have hosted two workshops focusing on two vital parts of any job or graduate/professional school search: the resume/cover letter and personal statements. For those of you rising seniors, now is the perfect time to begin, edit, and polish these. For others, it is always useful to have them on hand if an internship or grant opportunity unexpectedly pops up.

Special thanks goes out to our two presenters Allison Plunkett and Stacie Stormer. Both are from Career Connection at Ohio State, a career services and advising office open throughout the year to any Ohio State student with questions about career planning. This includes looking at and applying to graduate and professional schools. Below are the presentations slides and handouts from the workshops, and we hope that you take advantage of these resources. Lastly, please don't forget to RSVP for next Tuesday's presentation workshop!

Resume and Cover Letter Presentation
Resume Checklist Handout
Personal Statement Presentation
Personal Statement Handouts

SURI events this week: 7/21-27

The summer is swimming along... We will be holding our second workshop with OSU Career Connection this Wednesday at 4pm in 240 Page Hall. It will focus on writing effective personal statements. It's not too late to RSVP to uro@osu.edu

Have some extra time this weekend and want to go to Cedar Point for free? Consider donating blood. The Red Cross's new Polaris Donor Center is offering a free Cedar Point ticket to successful donors on the following dates:

• Friday, July 25th, 8 AM - 1 PM
• Saturday, July 26, 9 AM - 1 PM
• Sunday, July 27th, 10 AM - 2 PM

Walk-ins are welcome, but an appointment is preferred and will guarantee you a ticket pending a successful donation. Appointments can be made by calling (614) 253-2740. The location of the center is Polaris Donor Center, 1327 Cameron Ave., Lewis Center, OH 43035

Coming up next week:
Teaching Your Peers: Poster Presentation Basics
in partnership with Faculty and TA Development

• July 29, 4 - 6 p.m.
  300 Younkin Success Center
• Limited to 25; RSVP to uro@osu.edu with "7/29" in the subject line

This is an excellent interactive workshop to help you decide how to arrange and present a poster. Whether you will be presenting at the end of the summer or not for another year or two, it is never too early to get tips about how to talk about your research experience to different audiences.

SURI events this week: 7/14-20

This week we will be hosting a workshop on resumes and cover letters presented by OSU Career Connection. It is Wednesday at 4pm in 240 Page Hall. It's not too late to RSVP to uro@osu.edu. A second workshop focusing on personal statements will be occurring next Wednesday, July 23rd also at 4pm and in 240 Page Hall. Again, please let us know if you'd like to attend any of the workshops listed on the SURI calendar.

Thursday is this summer's second Wexner Drive-in film featuring The Lady from Shanghai. Like last time, we'll be meeting at 8pm on the stairs to Sullivant Library that face north (NOT the main stairs on High St.). Sullivant is building 106 on the campus map. Free Jeni's ice cream and popcorn will be offered at 8pm with the film starting at dusk around 9 and ending around 10:30. It's best to bring a blanket or lawn chairs. More information about the film can be found here.

Wednesday and Saturday will be our staples: brown bag lunch on the oval and Ultimate on the Lincoln turf fields, respectively. For the lunch, look for us in the shade at 12pm with the URO flag.

We hope that your summer research is continuing well, and remember to drink lots of water!

Communicating Your Research

Last week's professional development workshop presented by the Digital Union was very exciting as we witnessed how other people are using digital storytelling and website development to present their research results. Through various examples, we learned that digital storytelling helps the researcher to talk about research from a personal perspective, highlighting why the research matters and thererfore engaging the audience in a very different way from the usual poster presentation. Two students participating in Research on Research this summer shared their preliminary results to communicate research using websites. Resources at the Digital Union are available to all students who want to learn more about or utilize the tools to help them with a media presentation.

Communicating research results and sharing information about your research experience in a succinct, effective manner can be a challenge. It is also an important part of the research experience which is why we urge you to attend as many professional development workshops as you can this summer. Scheduled workshops for the remainder of July are:

• Resumes and Cover Letters, Wednesday, July 16 at 4 p.m. in room 240 Page Hall
• Personal Statements, Wednesday, July 23 at 4 p.m. in room 240 Page Hall
• Teaching Your Peers: Poster Presentation Basics, July 29, 4 - 6 p.m. in 300 Younkin Success Center

RSVP's requested to uro@osu.edu! Hope to see you there!

SURI events this week: 7/7-7/13

We hope you had a great holiday weekend! Here's this week's schedule of events:

Special events this week include an ice skating party this Wednesday (7/9) at the Ohio State Ice Rink (390 Woody Hayes Dr). Meet outside the rink in the walkway between St. John Arena and the ice rink at 7:45pm, and the URO will cover your admission and skate rental. If you arrive after 8:15, the cost is $4 which includes admission+skate rental. Open skate lasts until 10pm, and feel free to invite friends. An RSVP is not necessary to attend, but please let us know if you're planning to come at uro@osu.edu

It is not too late to RSVP to Thursday's (7/10) presentation by the Digital Union titled "Communicating Your Research Using Multimedia." Learn cool tools like podcasting and video editing that you can use in your research and everyday life. It will be from 3:30 - 5 p.m in 060 SEL (located in the basement of the Science and Engineering Library). Please RSVP to uro@osu.edu with "7/10" in the subject line.

Our weekly staples will also be happening. This week's brown bag lunch on Wednesday at 12pm will be hosted by Kevin Giriunas, a civil engineering major researching building collapse. Also, come play Ultimate Frisbee this Saturday (7/12) at 6pm on the grass fields between the RPAC and Lincoln Tower where the Kickoff picnic was held.

Check out our calendar for future events and workshops including newly-scheduled resume and personal statement workshops, and please RSVP as early as you can to uro@osu.edu; thanks!

Nuts and Bolts

Last night was our student presentation on the Nuts and Bolts of applying to graduate and professional school. Special thanks to our panelists Anjali, Jessica, and Megan!

Applying to graduate schools is a long and intensive process that includes standardized tests, writing personal statements, requesting letters of recommendation, and much, much more. Undergraduate research can have a big impact on your application process. Faculty, advisers, and students you have met through your research work and conferences will be best pool of knowledge to help you through the process. This is especially true of your faculty advisers. They are most likely the most knowledgeable about the process for your specific discipline and will probably be more than willing to help, not least of all writing your recommendation letters. Ultimately, the application process is a huge investment of time and effort, but it is also a growing experience that helps you realize what you actually want to do with your education.

Handouts that were developed by our panelists and the URO are available here for graduate, medical, and law schools. We will be hosting workshops on resumes and personal statements during the weeks of July 14th and July 21st so keep a look out for announcements here and via email.