Can poster presentations be turned into publications?

[tiy123]

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I was wondering if most poster presentations can be turned into a manuscript to be submitted for publication? Say if I did an independent project that I presented would it be reasonable to ask my mentor about publishing the results?

 

[cara susanna]

Yup. Pretty common, in fact.

 

[horse.renoir]

In my experience, most poster presentations that are connected to subsequent publications were designed to be publications that produce poster presentations as side works, rather than the other way around. Most poster presentations that were designed to be just posters probably don't make it to publication, though I've no hard and fast stats on that.

It all depends on a number of factors, but suffice to say if all (or even most) poster presentations were publishable, having publications on one's CV wouldn't be seen as the accomplishment they are.

EDIT: For the record, I don't necessarily disagree with the post above mine. But I'm thinking from the standpoint of including "undergrads presenting projects meant to be homework at local 'conferences'" rather than solely thinking of the national/international conference standpoint. If your project was presented at one of the latter, then it's much more likely publishable.

 

[tiy123]

Thanks! If it was a project that kind of branched off of a grad student or professor's project (like using the same participants or adding in an additional measure) would it be less publishable?

 

[futureapppsy2]

Thanks! If it was a project that kind of branched off of a grad student or professor's project (like using the same participants or adding in an additional measure) would it be less publishable?

Tbh, it depends on how good/meaningful/novel analyses and results are, how well you can present them, and how editors and reviewers respond to them. But yes, many datasets can produce multiple pubs. Others produce one. Yet others produce zero. There's a chance it could get published. There's a chance it could get file drawer'ed. We really can't tell you.

 

[cara susanna]

In my experience, most poster presentations that are connected to subsequent publications were designed to be publications that produce poster presentations as side works, rather than the other way around. Most poster presentations that were designed to be just posters probably don't make it to publication, though I've no hard and fast stats on that.

It all depends on a number of factors, but suffice to say if all (or even most) poster presentations were publishable, having publications on one's CV wouldn't be seen as the accomplishment they are.

EDIT: For the record, I don't necessarily disagree with the post above mine. But I'm thinking from the standpoint of including "undergrads presenting projects meant to be homework at local 'conferences'" rather than solely thinking of the national/international conference standpoint. If your project was presented at one of the latter, then it's much more likely publishable.

From my experience, posters are generally the first step before a publication. A lot of people use the feedback given during the poster session to improve the manuscript. Or sometimes by the time the poster is actually presented, the study is already in press. Obviously the data used for some posters may not be publishable, and/or students don't have the perseverance to see the peer review process through and therefore just end up stopping after the poster, but it's pretty common for a publication to result from the same study used for a poster. I agree with you that the projects solely designed for an undergrad's learning process may be less publishable, but I would guess that's a case-by-case basis.

 

[horse.renoir]

From my experience, posters are generally the first step before a publication. A lot of people use the feedback given during the poster session to improve the manuscript. Or sometimes by the time the poster is actually presented, the study is already in press. Obviously the data used for some posters may not be publishable, and/or students don't have the perseverance to see the peer review process through and therefore just end up stopping after the poster, but it's pretty common for a publication to result from the same study used for a poster. I agree with you that the projects solely designed for an undergrad's learning process may be less publishable, but I would guess that's a case-by-case basis.

Like I said, I don't disagree (and, actually, your post popped up right as I hit the "submit" button on mine, hence the edit), but I think the OP gave so few details it's very hard to say. Yes, many posters result in publications. But, again based on just my experiences, I'd bet that most, generally, don't. I've seen many instances where the feedback provided during a poster session is what the (graduate and undergraduate) student's mentor is hoping will get them to do better work, think more critically, etc., and the work is clearly not publishable. So I'll qualify my point: Are most posters from national/international conferences with paid memberships and the like publishable? Yes, probably. But most posters overall? Probably not.

And, OP--I echo futureapppsy2's post. There are too many details we don't have to give you the clear-cut answer you're seeking. But, I will say that, assuming it's as autonomous as you suggest, being part of a doc student or PI's project probably increases your odds, just because work at that level generally isn't done for the purpose of just learning the process of peer-reviewed research, as it is at many other levels. They're doing that work for it to get published (generally).

 

[tiy123]

Like I said, I don't disagree (and, actually, your post popped up right as I hit the "submit" button on mine, hence the edit), but I think the OP gave so few details it's very hard to say. Yes, many posters result in publications. But, again based on just my experiences, I'd bet that most, generally, don't. I've seen many instances where the feedback provided during a poster session is what the (graduate and undergraduate) student's mentor is hoping will get them to do better work, think more critically, etc., and the work is clearly not publishable. So I'll qualify my point: Are most posters from national/international conferences with paid memberships and the like publishable? Yes, probably. But most posters overall? Probably not.

And, OP--I echo futureapppsy2's post. There are too many details we don't have to give you the clear-cut answer you're seeking. But, I will say that, assuming it's as autonomous as you suggest, being part of a doc student or PI's project probably increases your odds, just because work at that level generally isn't done for the purpose of just learning the process of peer-reviewed research, as it is at many other levels. They're doing that work for it to get published (generally).

Ok thanks! I knew I wasn't going to get a yes/no I just wanted to know to get a general sense of whether or not it's an appropriate thing to aim for so this has been helpful.

 

[PsychScience]

Thanks! If it was a project that kind of branched off of a grad student or professor's project (like using the same participants or adding in an additional measure) would it be less publishable?

To echo what has been said above, there are a lot of variables at play that can effect whether a conference poster/paper presentation represents potentially publishable work. Much like what cara susanna stated, for me conference presentations usually represent the first step of moving something towards publications. There are a number of advantages to this, including the opportunity to get feedback from colleagues before finalizing analyses, results, and interpretation.

However, in addition to the nature of your findings affecting how publishable the work might be, your ability to turn your presentation into a manuscript likely depends heavily on the lab you are working in. When you say this was an independent project, what do you mean? It sounds like this may not have been your original project, meaning you were not responsible for the original design and implementation of the study, but rather it was originally a grad student or professor's project that you were allowed to work on and present. If this is the case, then almost certainly lab norms will apply. There is often a chain of command within a lab setting that determines authorship order and even access to contribute to a manuscript in a meaningful way. So the best way to answer your question, is to consider not only how much the field would interested in the findings but also the dynamic at play in your lab. Does the PI/your mentor have a history of working with students in your position to write manuscripts? Or does priority always go to the grad student who initiated the project or the PI themselves? If not a first-author opportunity, do you potentially have the chance to contribute as 2nd or 3rd author? Either way, I think that it is totally reasonable to approach your mentor, express your interest and commitment to the project, and to share your motivation to potentially be involved in the next stage of dissemination and see what options he/she provides for involvement and to gauge how publishable he/she feels the data might be.

 

[BizQuick]

Talk to your mentor about this.