CJS #3: Presenting Your Project

Presentation Deadlines:

1. 10 Minute Verbal Presentation to the CJS Group: 3/24
2.  Wiki Page Final Report: 4/8
3. Poster Presentation Forum: TBA

 There are many different kinds of research but every type of project requires effective presentation in written, verbal and visual form and it may demand other creative presentation strategies as well. Contrary to popular belief, presentation is NOT the final step of conducting a research project. Rather, thinking through how to communicate your ideas plays a crucial role in formulating a plan for research and action. Your presentation plan doubles as a check-list of what you need to do to complete the project. For the GEC, the presentations must adhere to the basic outline of a scientific paper and poster presentation, however within this format there is considerable room for adjustment to the nature of your project. Every presentation must include the following sections:

1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
3. Results
4. Conclusions

I highly recommend that you consult Columbia's guide to Writing a Scientific Research Paper. Does that sound a little dry? Consider how artist Paul Vanouse adapted the format to the presentation of an artwork that examines issues of race, genetics and eugenics, Relative Velocity Inscription Device.



General questions to keep in mind as you develop your presentation strategy:

• What kind of background information do you need to provide in order to capture the reader or viewer's interest?
• What is your objective for the project?
• How did you conduct the project? What methods and materials did you use?
• What kind of data did you collect (whether qualitative or quantitative)? 
• How can you present your data in a form that is clear and easy to understand?
• Check out InformationIsBeautiful.net for some amazing approaches to data visualization.
• Translating from one way of thinking into another - e.g. from numerical to visual or visual to audible form can reveal hidden connections. Click here for an overview. 
• What conclusions did you draw upon completion of the project? What did you accomplish? What remains to be done to address your particular topic?
• Does your project raise more questions than it answers? (That's not a bad thing.) What are some of the questions you have upon completion of the project?    

 Here's another amazing example of how to pack info onto a single page. Superfund365.org describes the contamination and history of one superfund site every day: