PAPER PRESENTATION TIPS
1.
Article Selection
· Select a research article with data that evolves from a clear hypothesis.
·
Do not select a review article.
Avoid Scientific American, American
Scientist, Bioscience and other condensed-topic
journals.
·
The article should contain some quantitative findings.
Descriptive studies may be more difficult to interpret and present than
comparative or experimental studies.
·
This should not be interpreted as "simple" or "easy."
It means that eventually you must understand the work well enough to
explain things to others.
·
At presentation time, your knowledge base must go
beyond the journal
article, thus allowing you to answer
questions that interrelate the specific research findings
into the broader discipline.
·
Put things in the simplest terms and avoid acronyms or explain them when
used.
·
Don't reject an article because of special terminology; just be sure you
learn any terms with which you are unfamiliar.
Your instructors are willing to help.
·
If at some point you realize you are "lost," seek help or consider
another article. Don't be
afraid to say, "I don't know."
However, an over reliance on this costs you credibility.
·
Is the abstract clear? Does
it provide a brief statement of problem, outline of methods, and highlights of
results?
·
Are the tables and graphic presentations focused and clear?
·
Does the author utilize the discussion section to expand on how the
results relate to other work and the significance of the work?
You do NOT have to present everything that is
in a paper, as long as the data/ideas that you leave out are not critical to
understand what you do present.
2.
Presentation Style
·
Generally, a Power Pt. slide made directly from a journal article table
or graph is too small, and often it is too "busy."
·
Consider developing your own graph or table in order to eliminate excess
data that you have no intention of explaining.
·
You need to explain the significance of any data you are presenting.
3.
Approaches to
Presenting Findings
·
What comparisons were made (controls)?
What parameters were actually measured?
·
Do not go into excess detail on methods or you leave no time for
results.
·
Explain unique or unusual conditions, instruments, or timing of data
collection.
·
Seldom can you take a whole table or graph directly from the paper and
present it in a meaningful way. As
previously stated, usually there is too much data in a table and the size is too
small for projection. It may be
better to make your own table just showing the data you want to discuss that
pertains to the point you want to make.
In either case, you must specifically draw attention to a few major
point, trends, etc.
·
Any graph or table presented to the class should have a title.
Start by explaining the graph axes or table rows and columns.
·
Graph lines must be identified.
· Do the findings have significance or implication to other organisms?
·
Can any generalizations, predictions, or extrapolations be made from the
research?
·
What deficiencies do you see in the experimental design?
4. Preparation