PortlandCommunity College Cascade Campus

704 N. Killingsworth

Portland, OR97217

Microbiology Bi 234

Poster Assignment: Current and Emerging Topics in Microbiology

This assignment gives you an opportunity to find and report on up-to-date information from the scientific literature. It will give you an opportunity to share your findings with your peers and to evaluate their findings, which is exactly what microbiologist do at a scientific meeting. Most microbiologists share their research via a poster (only a few give a slide presentation).

- What to do

A). Sign up for a topic.

A list is available in the lab. If you are interested in topic not on the list, I need to approve it before you start. Record your poster number from the sign-up list.

B). Conduct library/internet research.

Search for books or articles to find information. It is bestto start with review articles, such "Scientific American" or "ASM News" to geta goodoverview of a topic. But, these are not peer-reviewed and you will need at least 3 peer reviewed references for this assignment. Why peer reviewed, because only these references are considered valid by the scientific community. Remember to obtain proof that you have peer-reviewed articles (see below).

C). Assemble your poster.

Use one sheet ofposter board (available at the bookstore) or construct a virtual poster that can be set up in 2 minutes.. Include the following sections:

1)Poster number (in upper right corner).

2)Your PosterTitle (use a very big font size) and your name.

3)Abstract: a summary of the poster. One shortparagraph which states the concept being explored andbriefly summarizes key background information and new knowledge and/or approaches regarding the topic. Use font size 16or largerfor readability.

4)Topic paragraph: state the problem or concept in a few sentences.

5)Background information: a few paragraphs. Remember that you need a big font on a poster, so do not overdo this section. Less is better than a small font.

6)New knowledge about the topic or new approaches being taken regarding the problem.

7)References: cite at least 3 peer reviewed references as you would for a scientific paper. These references must be in the appropriate format but the font size can be as smaller. Include proof that your articles are peer-reviewed. (The references and proof do not have t o be on your poster, they can be on the back or in your hands.)

8)Pictures enhance your poster. You MUST provide photo credits underneath a photo. Tell who took the photo and where was it found, use as large a font as you can so that it fits and looks nice.

9)Use font size 16 or larger for readability on all text if you can. Obviously, if you have a lot of text, such as in your background section, this may not be possible, so use as big of a font as you can. With references and photograph credits you may use a smaller font but use as big as you can.

D). Display your poster in class.

"Current and Emerging Topics in Microbiology-
a poster session"

Location: in the lab (JH216)

Post your poster. Use the blue masking tape only or place your poster at your table or counter.

Visit and evaluate posters. You are expected to visit and evaluate at least 3 posters presented by your peers. You will be assigned the numbers of 2-3 posters. The other may be of your own choosing. Evaluation sheets will be provided.

Presenting:

Individuals with even numbered posters will first stand WITH your poster. People visiting and evaluating a poster may ask the author about it. For about 15 min., we will evaluate posters.

When announced, we will switch places. Individuals with odd numbered posters will stand WITH your poster. People visiting and evaluating a poster may ask the author about it. We will evaluate them for about 15 min.

At the end of lab turn in your poster evaluationsbut you may be asked to leave the posters as I may evaluate them. Put ALL the masking tape and poster numbers in the trash.

Grading:

Check the lab syllabus for the number of points (it is somewhere between 50-100 points, usually 65 pts.) You will mostly be evaluated on your poster from your classmates and from me, but also from your evaluation of your classmate's posters, so please do a good job. I will evaluate your poster on the same criteria that your classmates use. The evaluation sheets follows.

Poster Evaluation sheet (students & I will do this)

Evaluator's name:
Poster number: ______

Name of poster:______

Author of poster:______

Grading Scale of 9:

0 is nothing / 7 is average
1-5 is failing / 9 is excellent
6 is adequate / 10 is extra (you must state why you are giving a 10 or I’ll ignore your evaluation and lower your evaluation grade.)

Evaluation Rating:

ReadabilityWas a large font used so that it could be read from 4 feet away? y/n

Overall readability(rateon a scale of0-9)____

Overall layout and design(did the poster look nice, rate 0-10)____

If pictures were used were they appropriate to the topic? y/n

Were pictures clear and add to the poster? y/n Is it clear where the pictures were from? y/n

Rate pictures overall (rate 0-10)____

Were the assigned poster components complete? Was there a:

title and author’s name / y/n
abstract / y/n
topic paragraph / y/n
background / y/n
new approaches or ideas / y/n
references section? / y/n

(rate how complete the poster componentswere on a scale of 0-10). ____

How many referenceswere peer reviewed? _____.

Was proof provided for the peer-reviewed articles? y/n.

Were there at least 3 peer-reviewed references? y/n/not sure.

Were references in an appropriate format (author, year, source)? y/n.

References overall (rate 0-9) _____

Write a sentence or two for each of the following:

As the reader, what one big idea stood out when you reviewed this poster, what was important to the author?

Did the author get the information or message across effectively?

Grading of Your Poster Evaluations

Your instructor will do this. You will be graded on how well you evaluate your classmates’ posters using the following criteria:

Were all sections and questions of the poster evaluation sheet answered? y/n

if no, how many items were not answered? ___

If a 10 was scored, was a reason provided for why a 10 was given? y/n

if no, how many 10’s were not explained? ___

Score for your thoroughness on the above items
Score for how good & thoughtful your evaluations were
Total score on your evaluations:

Getting Proof that you have Peer-Reviewed Articles

Remember, you need proof, but it should not go on the poster (have it in your hands or on the poster back). There are several ways to get and prove that you have peer-reviewed articles.

1. Ask a librarian for help and get them to sign off that you have peer-reviewed articles. As you are in college and this will annoy our librarians, this method will not be accepted, but they will help you if you ask politely. They can also show you how to get proof.

2. Use one of PCC’s or another school’s library databases and select the box that says “peer-reviewed” articles and books. You need to print this page out before you do the search because after you do the search, this proof will disappear. This print-out is acceptable proof.

3. After you do a search and find a peer-reviewed article, click on the source (the name of the journal or book or etc.). This link will bring up a page about the source. On this page will be a line that says “Peer Reviewed: (Yes or No)”. Print out this page, it proves that the article is peer reviewed if it says “yes”.

4. In many peer-reviewed articles, the first page will somewhere have the lines “submitted on date” and “accepted on date” (usually on the bottom or near the top). If these two dates differ, then the article was sent out for peer-review. Print out this first page and it is proof of peer-review.

5. Get a list of peer-reviewed journals (there are many and you can find them from doing a search online). Check to see that your article is from a journal on this list. Print out the list, but be aware that there are thousands of peer-reviewed journals so that this is not simple. Also be aware that these journals publish opinion papers and quick news articles that are not peer-reviewed. This is acceptable proof.

6. Scientific books are always peer-reviewed before publication. Your texts included.