Presenting Research

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You may need to present research for a conference, oral defense, or student symposium. In all three cases, the following guidelines can help you prepare a strong presentation. 

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Research presentations need to directly address what your research has to offer. Yes, background is important, but you are there to share YOUR work. Here are two sources that provide good detail on putting together a research presentation. 

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• Six Fabulous Tips

• Example Guidelines

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Some key take-aways from these sites include:

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• Use PowerPoint wisely: fewer words, more images (when appropriate)

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• Follow the format:

  • title slide

  • a short intro

  • your hypotheses/research questions,

  • brief description of the methods,

  • tables and/or graphs related to your findings, an interpretation of your findings

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• One minute of talking per slide. 

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• People want to hear your results. Do not walk us through every article ever written on the topic. Please.

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• PRACTICE.

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What if I don't have data yet? Can I still present? 

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Yes. This is appropriate for student symposiums. It's common for students to present on what they have found in the literature. However, you should not present an annotated bibliography. Provide a synthesis of what the literature has to say about the topic and present what questions remain (including you research question). You can also present your proposed methodology. Then, next year, you can present the results.