Professional Posters Inform and Argue

When a professional presents original research, the goal of the poster is twofold. Not only should the poster present the data and findings uncovered in the research, but the poster also presents an argument for the validity and importance of the research. Although the argument seems secondary, it's a key factor in helping the writer decide what material to include in the poster.

The fastest growing variation of the professional poster session is the Internet session. Professionals prepare posters about their original work and post them on the Web. Instead of walking around viewing others' posters at a conference, participants of the virtual poster session view others' posters online. Electronic forums then allow participants and other audiences to ask questions of the poster authors. In the sample linked below, notice that the text is considerably longer than the authors could include on a physical poster, but the virtual poster eliminates the space problem that a physical posterboard imposes.