General Guidelines for Making a Powerpoint Presentation

KUMC Student Research Forum

A. General Format:

  1. Title Slide….
    1. Title of the presentation
    2. Student's Name, [Student's Year of study  - optional]
    3. Sponsor's Name
    4. Sponsor's Department
    5. Site where research was performed
    6. (e.g. School of Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center)
    7. Date of research….ex.,  Summer 2004
  2. General Outline of Talk/ Powerpoint:
    1. Introduction – why this research project was done.
    2. Materials and Methods – How it was designed & carried out.
    3. Results – What was found.
    4. Discussion – what did results show, mean; compare to other’s work.
    5. Acknowledgments – thank you to ….

 

B. Specific Format:

  1. Introduction:
    1. Describe what research has been performed in this area. BRIEF
    2. State the gaps in existing knowledge about this area.
    3. Give the rationale for doing your project.***
    4. Concisely state the specific aim(s) of your research.***
  2. Material and Methods:
    1. Give a concise description of the materials (animals, cell/tissue lines, etc.) and methods (techniques) used to perform your research.  If detailed procedures, then give a general summary.
    2. Lastly, state the statistical method(s) used to test for significant differences in the data.
  3. Results:
    1. Purpose is to describe the outcome(s) of the experiment.
    2. Tables and figures may be included.  Make sure text is READABLE in tables and not too small to read [don’t apologize for font; make it bigger]
  4. Discussion:
    1. State the results of the experiment relative to the specific aims enumerated in the Introduction.  If the specific aims were not achieved, try to explain why.
    2. Interpret the results relative to:
      1. similar or conflicting results published by others; and
      2. how they incorporate, or add to, existing knowledge in this specific area of research.
  5. Acknowledgements: -Optional slide
    1. Can include names of those you wish to thank for their help.

 

Presentation time is 8 (eight) minutes with 2 minutes for questions & answers.  In general, a maximum of 15 to 20 slides….it all depends on how time is spent on any slide. REHEARSE for time factor – at the Student Research Forum, a presentation will be stopped when time has expired.