Project presentations

Projects that necessitate the utilization of the SCN Lab are expected to be presented to the Coordinating Team during an event that is open to all members of the Faculty of Psychology.

The purpose of these presentations is to introduce your project in a concise manner in order to discuss it and, above all, to create bridges of knowledge among the different members/users of the lab.

The presentations should be very brief (maximum 10-12 minutes - 7/8 slides) and should contain the following information:

1. General Background

2. Aim/hypothesis of the research

3. Methods:

   • Equipment to be used in the SCN Lab

   • Estimated sample size (effect size if possible).

   • Total number of hours/slots requested and the ideal distribution of the experimental schedule

   • Recruitment strategy

   • Reimbursement of participants?

   • Overview of planned analysis

4. Expected Results

5. Previous experience with the use of the equipment.

Following the presentations, there will be a short question and debate session involving the coordinating team and the audience.

To initiate the project, it is important to obtain the positive recommendation of the coordinating team. Their endorsement is crucial as it serves as an acknowledgment of the project's viability and aligns it with the goals and objectives of the team or organization.

Other presentations

Learning to present your research is important. Very few people will read your papers carefully (sad, but true) but you can reach a lot of people at conference talks and posters. Also, if you plan on staying in academia, getting a postdoc position and getting a faculty position both significantly depend on your ability to present your data. Even if you want to leave academia, presentations are likely to be an important part of your job. Additionally, every time you present your work, you are representing not just yourself but the entire lab.

It is therefore highly encouraged that you seek out opportunities to present your research, whether it is at departmental talk series and events, to other labs, at conferences, or to the general public. If you are going to give a presentation (a poster or a talk), be prepared to give a practice presentation to the lab at least one week ahead of time (two weeks or more are advisable for conference presentations, and many weeks ahead of time are advisable for job talks, which require much refining). Practice talks will help you feel comfortable with your presentation, and will also allow you to get feedback from the lab and implement those changes well in advance of your real presentation.

Templates for posters will be available (SCNL SharePoint), and you can use those as much or as little as you’d like. Some general rules for posters should be followed: minimize text as much as possible (if you wrote a paragraph, you’re doing it wrong), make figures and text large and easy to see at a distance, label your axes, and make sure different colors are easily discriminable. Other than that, go with your own style.

In general, PIs are also happy to share slides from some of their talks through SCNL Sharepoint if you would like to use a similar style. You’ll get a lot of feedback on your talks in any case, but other people’s slides might be helpful to you as you are setting up your talk. As with posters, feel free to go with your own style as long as it is polished and clear.