Student Research and Creative Work

Valparaiso University offers a few different grants for student researchers.  These grants are administered by the Creative Work and Research Committee.

• Guild Undergraduate Creative Work and Research Expense Grants – These grants support research-related expenses such as equipment purchases, supplies, photocopying, or other research needs or travel, meals, or lodging to present their findings at conferences.
• Undergraduate Summer Research Housing Grants – Students engaged in summer research may be eligible to receive free housing in the residence halls.

Poster presentations offer researchers and scholars a unique opportunity to disseminate the findings of their work. While formal paper presentations involve verbal sharing with large groups, poster presentations rely on visual impact to communicate with viewers on a more informal, individual basis.

You will be assigned space to display your poster. To assure consistency in presentation format, your poster must be assembled on either a 30” x 40” or 36” x 48” poster presentation board, available at the Valpo bookstore, office supply stores, or craft stores. Posters may also be printed on a large-scale printer. Suggested dimensions that work well for printed posters are 24″ x 36″, 36″ x 44″, or 36″ x 48″ in either portrait or landscape. Once you know the size and configuration of the display, you can begin planning your presentation.

Planning a poster presentation can be fun and allows you a great deal of creativity and ingenuity.
The poster display consists of the title and other sections related to your project, and posters include both text and graphics. Text refers to information presented as reading material in a narrative format. Graphics refers to anything that is not text, which may include charts, graphs, tables, illustrations, photos, and/or other artwork. Consider what combination of text and graphics you wish to use to highlight key points and add variety to your poster.

One of the most difficult decisions for your poster concerns what specific information to include from your research project.

1. Consider the questions of Why, Who, What, When, Where, How, and So What to help you make decisions about what to include. Outline your project to identify key ideas.
2. Provide an organizing format by dividing the content of your project into purposeful sections with headings. Most scholarly presentations include sections labeled as Introduction or Problem, Methods or Methodology, Results, Discussion, Conclusions, Acknowledgments, and Literature Cited. Other components such as Review of Literature or Theoretical Framework may also be appropriate. Your name and department/college should be included in the title display.
3. Balance clarity with brevity. The content must be sufficient to explain the project but readable and concise enough to fit on the poster legibly. Too much information on a poster discourages viewing.
4. Aim for self-containment. Plan a poster that can stand alone with no additional explanation required. Viewers should ask you to elaborate on your project, not explain it.
5. Plan to have copies of your abstract available for distribution to interested viewers.

A high-quality poster presentation should meet the three criteria of readability, visual appeal, and logically organized content.

Logically organized content: Understanding the content of the poster is the main concern for the viewer. Impressive visual appeal cannot compensate for content that lacks clarity and accuracy. Arrange materials logically and systematically. Design a layout of both text and graphics that helps the viewer grasp your project’s main message quickly and correctly. Ask a friend to review a rough draft before you create your final copy. Elicit specific feedback to determine if your selection and arrangement of content have captured the essence of your project.

Readability: Your materials should be readable from a distance of 4 to 6 feet. Use large print; close, compact text discourages readability. The entire poster should be comprehensible in less than five minutes, so more than three or four minutes of reading material may overwhelm the viewer. Headings for sections should stand out from the text to provide an important visual guide through the poster’s content. The title should be prominently displayed at the top of the poster, highly visible and dominant, to catch the viewer’s attention. Print the title in large enough type so viewers can read it easily at a distance of 5 to 10 feet.

Visual appeal: Your creativity is an important element of visual appeal. Plan an innovative design to provide the visual appeal that is critical to attracting the viewer’s attention. Use color combinations and the arrangement of white space and borders around sections to provide contrast, visual interest, and a strong impact. However, overuse of color can detract from the message and overwhelm the viewer. Keep the design simple; avoid design distractions that cause confusion and clutter.

• Poster Template from Poster Presentations
  posterpresentations.com/html/free_poster_templates.html
• Poster Template from MegaPrint
  postersession.com/poster-templates.php
• Valparaiso University Poster Presentation Judging Criteria (XLS)
  valpo.edu/undergraduate-research/files/2015/11/judging_criteria_2009.xls
• Creating Effective Poster Presentations
  https://sites.google.com/ncsu.edu/effective-posters/
  This revised site provides instructions for step-by-step development of effective posters and offers great examples of posters done for research. The authors address planning and development, software options, formatting, and layout. In addition, poor poster techniques are discussed.
• Creating a Poster Using MS PowerPoint
  faculty.washington.edu/robinet/poster.html
  This guide provides instructions for creating a poster presentation using PowerPoint.
• Expanded Guidelines for Giving a Poster Presentation
  https://asp.org/asp-education/giving-a-good-scientific-presentation-powerpoint-and-writing-quality-abstracts/
  This document has been compiled to provide some helpful guidelines on effective ways to present scientific information.
• How to Make a Poster? Posters Have Advantages Over Talks!
  bio.vu.nl/thb/users/tmbm99/poster.html
  This site provides reasons for creating a poster to present research and discusses formatting considerations.
• Introduction: Poster Sessions
  writing.colostate.edu/guides/speaking/poster/index.cfm
  Colorado State University’s writing guide is a great place to start when faced with a poster assignment. Straightforward instructions and guidance along with examples and additional resources steer tenderfeet and veterans in effective design.
• Poster Presentations: Designing Effective Posters
  University of Buffalo Library
  https://research.lib.buffalo.edu/poster-presentations
  Poster sessions are frequently used as a means to convey information in a brief format (typically 4′ x 8′) in classrooms, conferences, symposia, and workshops. Designing effective poster presentations is an art unto itself. This guide provides resources to make the process easier.
• Tips for Presenting Your Research in a Poster Presentation
  The Evergreen State College, Office of Institutional Research and Assessment
  evergreen.edu/institutionalresearch/pdf/Tips%20for%20Preparing%20a%20Poster%20Presentation.pdf

An oral presentation provides a chance for students to present their research by reading a paper and/or showing PowerPoint slides to a group of interested faculty, students, and judges. These presentations will allow students to experience what it is like to present their research at a conference in their discipline.

Students making oral presentations will be organized into 90 minute sessions.

During each session, four students (or four groups of students working on the same project) from varying disciplines will present. Each student or group will have 15 minutes to present, followed by five minutes for questions and answers from the audience. A timer will sound at the 13-minute mark, letting you know when you have only two minutes left to wrap up.

At each session a faculty moderator will introduce the students and keep track of the allotted time. Several faculty judges will also be present at each session.

Guidelines for Oral Presentations:

Finally, students should consult with their faculty sponsor about the best way to present their material. Your faculty sponsor has probably made many such presentations and can give you some good tips.

As with poster presentations, students are required to submit an abstract of their oral presentation via the Abstract Online Submission Form in ValpoScholar.

If you have Google or PowerPoint slides, you will need to upload a copy of those slides to a Google Drive as instructed by the director of SOURCE at least 48 hours in advance. The director will then upload all slides onto the computer in the presentation room. You must also bring a flash drive copy of your slides as a backup on the day of the presentation.

Practice your presentation in advance so that you know it will be within the 15-minute mark.

A good rule of thumb is that it takes two minutes to read one page, so your paper should be no longer than seven to eight standard, double-spaced pages.

Although you are not expected to memorize your presentation, you should be familiar enough with the material to make frequent eye contact with your audience.

Handouts are not required, but if you choose to bring handouts to your presentation, you should bring 10 copies.

A good oral presentation will:

Summarize your research succinctly: stating your thesis, argument, purpose, and research methods

Present the evidence that supports your thesis

Point out any conclusions you have reached

Explain the larger significance of your research for your field

The Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE) abstract submission page is now directly linked to the ValpoScholar website for publication! ValpoScholar serves as the central exchange for outstanding scholarship and creative work from faculty and students as well as University record and campus history. Your work will be stored here permanently, so you can provide the link to family, friends, and future employers to show them your work.

INSTRUCTIONS:

STEP ONE: When you click on the link below, you will be prompted to login to your existing account or create an account in ValpoScholar. You will need to provide your email address and a password.

STEP TWO: Once you have created an account, the link will take you directly to the abstract submission form for the Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression. In addition to your abstract of 250 or fewer words, you will need to have the following information available:

• Title of project;
• Name(s) of the author(s);
• Primary contact name and email;
• Faculty sponsor name and email;
• Name of the college and department/program associated with the project;
• Biographical information about the author(s) — 75 or fewer words;
• Information on whether you will be displaying a tabletop poster (tri-fold presentation board) or wall poster (printed on a large-scale printer), or if you will be making an oral presentation;
• Primary file or link to your primary file for your poster or oral presentation (optional).

STEP THREE: Once you have completed and successfully uploaded the abstract submission form and all attachments, you will receive email confirmation of your submission. If you do not receive an email confirmation, please submit your abstract again.

STEP FOUR:  A few weeks after the date of SOURCE, your abstract (along with any files you have uploaded) will then be published in a permanent archive of Valpo work.

Click here to get started! The abstract submission deadline is Friday, March 28, 2025!

NOTE:  There is no prejudging process for SOURCE. Once you have submitted an abstract, you are in! Please save the date of Thursday, April 24, 2025 on your calendar and plan to attend SOURCE to showcase your work. We will contact you prior to the event to communicate final event details.

If you have questions about the submission process, please contact Stan Zygmunt at .