RESEARCH METHODS & DESIGNS I – PSYC 310
ASSIGNMENT #5
RESEARCH PROPOSAL POSTER (30pts, GRP)
For this group assignment, you will be required to create a research proposal poster,
which is a visual representation of your research study. Research posters are widely
used in the academic community, and most conferences include poster presentations in
their program. So, knowing how to put together a research poster is an essential skill for
you to have as a researcher. Your poster will differ slightly from the typical conference
poster in that you are presenting a research idea, and not the results of a study that has
been carried out. That aside, creating a research proposal poster will still be a valuable
exercise for you.
To ensure the work is distributed fairly, you will complete a Group Contract, just as you
did for the Method Section assignment. Your Group Contract needs to be submitted no
later than the beginning of your respective conference time on the date specified on
your Conference Overview Table. Regarding the fifth assignment, you will only need
to submit one version of the assignment no later than the beginning of your respective
conference time on the date specified on your Conference Overview Table. Keep in
mind that on this same date, each group member must also submit the completed
Group Work Confirmation form.
Please note that your poster will only be accepted if we have received your Group
Contract. I would suggest you read through the instructions below carefully to fully
understand what is required before allocating work tasks.
What is a Research Proposal Poster?
https://www.animateyour.science/post/how-to-design-an-award-winning-conference-poster
RESEARCH METHODS & DESIGNS I – PSYC 310
A research poster summarizes information concisely and attractively, using a
combination of text and graphics or images. The proposal poster is intended to offer a
condensed overview of the study rationale, the study method and expected results. It
aims to provide a broad overview of the research, and not establish a basis for
replication. Thus, the amount of detail is considerably less than what would be in a
research proposal paper. In fact, the less wordy your poster is, the better!
Research Proposal Poster – The Basic Ingredients
Your research proposal poster should communicate the following information:
1. Title line:
 study title
 authors
 institutional affiliation (PSYC 310, Department of Psychology, Concordia
University)
2. Study rationale:
 research question,
 background,
 why we should care,
 gap in literature and how you plan to address it,
 contribution of your study,
 clear hypothesis/theme/focus
3. Study participants:
 all relevant information provided (e.g., number of participants)
 relevant demographics
 important inclusion/exclusion criteria
 recruitment method
4. Research design and procedures:
 IVs and DV identified (visual representation is best)
 brief explanation of procedure (try to include visuals)
 brief explanation of operational definition & how DV will be measured
 sample measurement items (provided for clarity)
 study hypotheses
5. Expected results & conclusions:
 expected results stemming from hypotheses (best represented as a bar graph,
properly labelled)
 relation between anticipated results and study purpose
 study contribution should results play out as expected
6. References
 work cited in the poster only
RESEARCH METHODS & DESIGNS I – PSYC 310
While the above list might look daunting, please bear in mind that you already have
most of the information at your disposal from having completed the Literature Review
and Method assignments. The only new information you will need to develop pertains to
your expected results section.
Research Proposal Poster Design Tips
The primary purpose of the poster is to attract an audience to want to come and learn
more about your research. Thus, the poster design is very important. You want to create
a poster that is visually appealing and easy to comprehend at a glance. If your poster
fails on these fronts, it will not get a chance to achieve its secondary purpose, which is
communicating your science.
Below are some basic design elements that will help you have an eye-catching poster.
Be sure to consult the weblinks provided for illustrative examples.
1. Content
Present your information in sections, with headers, in separate boxes or panels. Avoid
paragraphs, and opt for bullet points instead, or a combination of the two. Use images
and graphics as much as possible. Be sure they are relevant and not overly distracting.
You might consider representing your research design in the manner that was
suggested to you for the Method assignment (example below)
Manipulated variable
Participant variable
Music style
Dementia
rock vs. classical
absent vs. present
Dependent variable
Salivary cortisol
2. Layout & Poster Size
For this assignment, I suggest you create your poster in PowerPoint. It will be the
easiest program to work with. In terms of poster size, create a landscape poster that is
(48 in x 60 in).
RESEARCH METHODS & DESIGNS I – PSYC 310
Decide on how many panels you will have and how you will organize them. Aim for
visual symmetry. Leave the same size space between the panels.
https://www.animateyour.science/post/how-to-design-an-award-winning-conference-poster
3. Colour Scheme
Be mindful of your colour choice. Only use a limited number of colours (3-5) and make
sure they are in the same palette. PowerPoint already does this for you. Whenever you
select a colour, you will see other theme colours in the same palette.
Another useful tool you can use is Material Palette (https://www.materialpalette.com)
where you can select two colours that you like and the program will generate a colour
palette for you. Below is an example of the colour palette generated when I selected the
two circled colours.
4. Fonts & sizes
Use only one or two different fonts, and use them consistently throughout the poster.
Boldface should be used on titles and headlines, while all the rest should be normal.
RESEARCH METHODS & DESIGNS I – PSYC 310
Stick with the classic font types: Arial, Times New Roman, Calibri. Avoid fancy fonts,
they are too difficult to read. In terms of font size, try 40 for the Title, 20-25 for the
headlines, and 16-20 for the body text. Adjust your font size to fill up the space evenly.
Your poster should be readable from 10 feet away.
Below is an example of a poster that pulls all these design elements together nicely:
RESEARCH METHODS & DESIGNS I – PSYC 310
Helpful Resources
1. Research poster templates:
https://www.posterpresentations.com/free-poster-templates.html
https://colinpurrington.com/2019/06/templates-for-better-posters/
2. Good poster advice:
https://colinpurrington.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/scientific-poster-advicepurrington.pdf
https://www.animateyour.science/post/how-to-design-an-award-winning-conferenceposter
3. Example of a bad poster:
https://colinpurrington.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/bad-conference-posterexample.pdf