Poster presentation: Is it worth the time?

[BuddingScholar]

Hey guys...

 

Since I have missed the deadline to submit a presentation proposal for the CAA conference next year , I was thinking of submiting a proposal for a poster session instead.  Do you think that this will help my CV when it comes time to apply to grad schools?

 

The reason why I ask that is because I associate poster presentations with 5th grade science fairs, though I have been told that it is a totally legitimate scholarly activity.  What are your thoughts?

 

cheers...

 

 

[Neuro_Dave]

Not sure about every field, but in my graduate field (Neuroscience) the vast majority of information presented is at the poster sessions.  The lecture series tend to be secondary for the recruitment of undergrads.  Presenting a professional poster ie..go to Kinkos and pay money to print out a professional looking glossy poster with several days worth of fine tuning and editing having gone into it. 

 

Presenting at multiple conferences looks great on your CV.  You are obviously dedicated to the field you've chosen.  Not afraid to present in public the work you've been doing.  Confident enough to present it.  It tells a whole lot about your scholastic achievement and personal character.  Take the initiative and if a lab director or PI you REALLY want to work with is attending the conference you're attending, email him/her and ask about their work, explain how it may overlap with your own, and express an interest in meeting with them and potentially having them watch you present during the conference.  Great opportunities all around when presenting posters.  Not the least of which is just getting more confident explaining the research you are working on to people who likely have little to no clue about it. 

Again- this is probably only specifically applicable to biomedical science conferences/conventions.  But the practice in general is probably universal to some extent across graduate fields.  Heck, I put my undergraduate poster presentations from the psychology lab classes on my CV, it never hurts.

[Eigen]

That's not my direct experience with biomedical fields, so it might be a bit over-generalizing. 

 

I'd say posters are the primary mode of presentation for graduate student research, though. 

 

Oral presentations tend to be more cohesively organized series, where the presenters are talking about an overview of a research arc, rather than a pointed and specific project. 

 

I wouldn't go overboard with the poster presentations on the CV- I don't even include school-wide posters. 

 

Not to put down poster presentations at all, though. I've got a number on my CV. They're just not given the same weight as oral talks, in my experience. 

[manierata]

Actaully, you haven't missed it.  Did you get the email?  You've got 3 days, get on it!:

 

 

Deadline for 2014 Call for Participation Extended

The deadline to propose a paper for the 102nd Annual Conference, which takes place February 12–15, 2014, in Chicago, has been extended to Monday, May 13, 2013. You may download and view the twenty-seven-page 2014 Call for Participation—which gives session titles, names the chairs, describes each session’s content, and provides a timeline for chairs and panelists—to learn more about program sessions for next year’s event. The document also includes information about the Poster Sessions and the Open Forms panels.

[Hegel's Bagels]

Instead of applying for a poster session, I would apply to smaller regional conferences in your field or a graduate/undergraduate art history conference. A lot of deadlines will be this summer. I think you will have a better chance at having an abstract accepted and it will look a lot better on your CV. I think a poster session would be a waste of time. Unlike the sciences, scholarly presentations are the litmus test for your worth and having one under your belt will show potential departments that you will able to handle seminar presentations during coursework. Also I have been to CAA multiple times and I have never seen an undergrad or a graduate student who was not ABD present. This is not gospel truth but it is my understanding that CAA is for scholars who are further along in their research/career. Maybe this is only true for my field?

[BuddingScholar]

Thank you guys!  I think I will skip CAA as advised and am gonna start looking for more regional underg/grad call for papers.  I have been accepted to two in the Fall (SECAC and NCHC), but I would like to find more options.

 

cheers!

[fullofpink]

Thank you guys!  I think I will skip CAA as advised and am gonna start looking for more regional underg/grad call for papers.  I have been accepted to two in the Fall (SECAC and NCHC), but I would like to find more options.

 

cheers!

 

2 conferences in a year is great. I wouldn't recommend doing any more. You should be presenting different papers at each conference; however, both papers should be extremely relative to what you wish to research, especially if you are applying to grad school (as opposed to already being in grad school - if you are already in grad school, make sure that your papers are being peer-reviewed and that your adviser signs off on it. You aren't just representing yourself - you are also representing your department). 

 

Plan conference presentations strategically. You are presenting to your academic peers who are not shy about pointing out flaws or issues in your research, and also to academics who will be interested in giving advice or pointing out scholarship that will help your own research. However, don't go to conferences thinking that you will find the greater majority being the latter, academics will lose respect for you if your presentation isn't tight.  

 

Additionally, conferences should enhance or stimulate your current research - if you find yourself spending a significant amount of time producing NEW scholarship (instead of extrapolating on what you are working) then you aren't doing much for your intended area. Hence why I would limit how many you seek, just as a suggestion. 

Edited May 14, 2013 by fullofpink