IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication Jun 2025

Comparative Study of Scientific Research Poster Design Favors Complete Assertion Headings and No Abstracts Over Other Formats

Joanna Wolfe Carnegie Mellon University ; Juliann Reineke Case Western Reserve University ; Jennifer Lott The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital

Abstract

<bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Background:</b> Millions of scientific research posters are presented at conferences every year, yet little research exists to guide poster design. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Literature review:</b> There is widespread dissatisfaction with the state of scientific research posters. Research from technical and professional communication suggests that the typical research poster could be improved with complete sentence assertion headings. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Research question:</b> How does poster format affect audience comprehension and reader preference? <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Research methodology:</b> In Study 1, undergraduates read posters in two different formats—Complete Assertion Headings and short, Topical Phrase Headings—and answered questions about comprehension and preference. In Studies 2a (engineering educators) and 2b (engineering faculty), participants answered questions about their perceptions of three different poster formats: Complete Assertion Headings, traditional IMRD headings + Abstract, and the popular #betterposter billboard style template. In a short teaching case study, students used these research results to develop their own posters and adapted the templates that we presented. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Results:</b> Study 1 found that Complete Assertion Headings, compared to topical headings, improved student recall, and students preferred the complete assertion format. Study 2a found that engineering educators preferred nontraditional poster formats (both the Complete Assertion Heading and the #betterposter format) to the traditional IMRD + Abstract format. Study 2b found that mechanical engineering faculty preferred the Complete Assertion Heading to other formats. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Conclusion:</b> We recommend that practitioners consider using Complete Assertion Headings on their posters, and we provide examples of exemplary student posters.

Journal
IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
Published
2025-06-01
DOI
10.1109/tpc.2025.3529094
CompPile
Open Access
Closed
Topics
teacher development professional writing empirical research qualitative research affect and writing
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (0)

No articles in this index cite this work.

References (46) · 8 in this index

  1. 10.1007/978-3-319-61280-5
     ↗
  2. 10.1007/s40670-022-01657-z
     ↗
  3. 10.3389/fbinf.2023.1216139
     ↗
  4. 10.1016/j.rcsop.2024.100423
     ↗
  5. Patience (2015)
    Communicate Science Papers, Presentations, and Posters Effectively
Show all 46 →
  1. 10.3389/fcomm.2023.1063345
     ↗
  2. 10.5688/ajpe8010162
     ↗
  3. 10.1109/ipcc.2012.6408627
     ↗
  4. Hughey
    Beyond the lab report: The place of student-designed research and visual communication in…
  5. Kenzie et al. (2018)
    Teaching Writing for the Health Professions: Disciplinary Intersections and Ped…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  6. Kimball (2017)
    The Golden Age of Technical Communication
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  7. 10.1002/bmb.21034
     ↗
  8. Mogull (2008)
    A call for new courses to train scientists as effective communicators in contemporary gov…
    Tech. Commun.
  9. Clarkson
    Communication training for scientists and engineers: A framework for highlighting princip…
  10. Clarkson
    Learning how to teach visual communication design skills to scientists and engineers
  11. 10.1002/2327-6924.12478
     ↗
  12. Morison (2020)
    How to create a better research poster in less time (betterposter Generation 2)
  13. 10.53061/DVQK4625
     ↗
  14. 10.1111/tct.12584
     ↗
  15. D’Angelo (2011)
    Academic posters across disciplines: A preliminary study
    Lang. Studies Work. Papers
  16. 10.1016/j.cptl.2018.11.011
     ↗
  17. 10.1075/idj.25.1.08sta
     ↗
  18. 10.1371/journal.pone.0140029
     ↗
  19. 10.1016/j.hpe.2018.03.005
     ↗
  20. Flaherty (2019)
    betterposter
  21. Greenfieldboyce (2019)
    To save the science poster, researchers want to kill it and start over
  22. 10.1007/978-1-4419-8279-7
     ↗
  23. 10.1002/9781118796139
     ↗
  24. 10.1007/bf01320076
     ↗
  25. 10.1002/tl.47
     ↗
  26. Wolfe et al. (2024)
    Advancing the Knowledge Base on Effective Presentation Slide Design: Three Pilo…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  27. 10.18260/1-2--17510
     ↗
  28. 10.1109/fie.2006.322455
     ↗
  29. Garner (2013)
    How the design of presentation slides affects audience comprehension: A case for the asse…
    Int. J. Eng. Educ.
  30. Alley (2006)
    How the design of headlines in presentation slides affects audience retention
    Tech. Commun.
  31. 10.1111/j.1365-2923.2011.03988.x
     ↗
  32. 10.1177/0098628311421333
     ↗
  33. 10.4324/9781315538747
     ↗
  34. 10.6061/clinics/2012(05)17
     ↗
  35. Mackiewicz (2003)
    Which rules for online writing are worth following?: A study of eight rules in …
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  36. Matthews (1990)
    The scientific poster: Guidelines for effective visual communication
    Tech. Commun.
  37. Lam et al. (2023)
    An Introduction to Quasi-Experimental Research for Technical and Professional C…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  38. 10.1016/j.edurev.2017.11.001
     ↗
  39. Williams et al. (1992)
    Visual discriminability of headings in text
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  40. Spyridakis (1989)
    Signaling Effects: A Review of the Research—Part I
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  41. Huhmann et al. (2002)
    Rhetorical figures in headings and their effect on text processing: the moderat…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
CrossRef global citation count: 1 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. Research in the Teaching of English Aug 2024
    An Eight-Year Longitudinal Study of an English Language Arts Teacher’s Developmental Path through Multiple Contexts ↗
    Peter Smagorinsky; Stacia L. Long
    teacher development assessment empirical research qualitative research affect and writing
  2. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication Dec 2023
    Fostering Advocacy, Developing Empathetic UX Bricoleurs: Ongoing Programmatic Assessment and Responsive Curriculum Design ↗
    Scott J. Kowalewski; Bill Williamson
    writing pedagogy curriculum design service learning teacher development assessment technical communication professional writing empirical research qualitative research
  3. Research in the Teaching of English Nov 2017
    (Dis)Identifying as Writers, Scholars, and Researchers: Former Schoolteachers’ Professional Identity Work during Their Teacher-Education Doctoral Studies ↗
    Ann M. Lawrence
    modern rhetorical theory genre theory graduate education teacher development professional writing empirical research qualitative research literacy studies
  4. Composition Forum 2015
    The Source of Our Ethos: Using Evidence-Based Practices to Affect a Program-Wide Shift from “I Think” to “We Know” ↗
    Elizabeth G. Allan, Dana Lynn Driscoll, D.R. Hammontree, Marshall Kitchens, and Lori Ostergaard
    first-year composition writing pedagogy teacher development argument assessment professional writing labor and working conditions empirical research affect and writing
  5. Research in the Teaching of English Aug 2011
    Subjectivity, Intentionality, and Manufactured Moves: Teachers’ Perceptions of Voice in the Evaluation of Secondary Students’ Writing ↗
    Jill V. Jeffery
    genre theory writing pedagogy teacher development assessment empirical research qualitative research multilingual writers affect and writing