How to Make an APA Style Poster

Guide for Undergraduate Students

Emma Marshall

University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Poster Assignment

Content

  • Introduction
  • Methods
  • Results
  • Discussion
  • References*

The Poster

  • Layout
  • Visuals
  • Color
  • Whitespace
  • Aesthetics

Tips & Tricks

  • Use a template
  • Know your Audience
  • USE LESS TEXT!!

Elements of a Poster

Title Section

Introduction

  • Overview of why research was conducted
  • Describe core Theory & Background
    • Provide factual basis for RHs
    • Synthesize & summarize research area
  • Research question(s) ➜ Road Map for audience!

Methods

  • Describe how they studied topic
  • Describe steps or processes
  • Include who was studied and where
    • Sample size (n)
    • Demographics
      (M & SD or # & %)

Results

  • Show what they found
  • Focus on the key findings
    • Organize by RHs
  • Include Tables & Figures
    (graphs & pictures)
  • Minimize text!

Discussion

  • Explain why results matter
  • Describe real-world implications
  • Generalize based on:
    • sample/population of interest
    • task
    • setting
  • Identify limitations
  • Suggest future directions for research

How to Make a Poster

UNL Pixel Lab provides student resources

  • There is no one “correct” way to make a poster, but yours should be:

    • visually appealing
    • proof read
    • logical & organized

  • General advice:

    • Focus on telling a visual "story"
    • Use minimal text!
    • Make any Figures & Tables readable

Poster Content

APA posters generally include the following:

  • Title Section

    • Title and Author(s)

  • Introduction/Abstract

    • Background information about the literature or theory that prompted the research.

    • Describe purpose of study and/or list research question(s)

  • Method

    • Participants: Who (what) and how they were selected
    • Materials: Equipment, measures, and materials used to collect data
    • Procedure: Treatment and data collection process

  • Results

    • Description of the data analysis process and results.
    • Does not need to be too detailed or statistics based.
    • Use visualizations and charts to show findings.

  • Discussion

    • Relating the findings to the previous literature.
    • Identify limitations & future directions.

  • References/Funding

    • Sources listed & formatted properly in APA 7 style.

    • Disclose any funding or sponsorships.

“Making” Your Poster

  • You can use different programs to make your poster

    • But I recommend a slide presentation tool like PowerPoint, Keynote, or Google Slides
    • Use a template!!

  • Save final poster as PDF!!

  • Powerpoint Templates

Horizontal 36x48

Square 42x42

Vertical 48x36

Examples

A few with too much text

Be creative & Have some fun!