Poster Presentation Events with Grants & Awards

[LivingOffLoans]

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I tried looking around the search function for info on this and found some things but still have some questions...

So, I am wondering where I can get some information regarding national conferences for poster presentations, what it takes to get in there, and what kind of prizes are offered.

I am a very broke and very ambitious graduate student in counseling psychology but have always had a soft spot for research. I'd love to contribute something to the field before I apply to doctorate programs. I want to do it for the experience, the recognition, and the monetary reward.

A few immediate questions that come to mind:

*Are there any review board guidelines/approvals that I have to go through before conducting my own independent study?

*Do I have to get published in order to get into a major poster conference?

*If I'm not required to be published, do I have to produce an actual article before creating the poster? Or can I just draw from the data and include an abstract/references?

*What makes a winning poster presentation?

This is something I'd like to start thinking about now and put into action toward the end of, or immediately after, my master's program is finished and I am doing my licensure hours. I have a number of research interests and fun ideas that I know will make for excellent scientific investigation.

Any info would be very helpful 🙂

 

[wigflip]

I tried looking around the search function for info on this and found some things but still have some questions...

So, I am wondering where I can get some information regarding national conferences for poster presentations, what it takes to get in there, and what kind of prizes are offered.

I am a very broke and very ambitious graduate student in counseling psychology but have always had a soft spot for research. I'd love to contribute something to the field before I apply to doctorate programs. I want to do it for the experience, the recognition, and the monetary reward.

A few immediate questions that come to mind:

*Are there any review board guidelines/approvals that I have to go through before conducting my own independent study?

*Do I have to get published in order to get into a major poster conference?

*If I'm not required to be published, do I have to produce an actual article before creating the poster? Or can I just draw from the data and include an abstract/references?

*What makes a winning poster presentation?

This is something I'd like to start thinking about now and put into action toward the end of, or immediately after, my master's program is finished and I am doing my licensure hours. I have a number of research interests and fun ideas that I know will make for excellent scientific investigation.

Any info would be very helpful 🙂

I've only presented empirical and theoretical papers (never posters) at non-psych conferences, but my impression has always been that a poster is a means of presenting work in progress. In my field, it's kind of discouraged to present published work at conferences--the aim is to get feedback from leaders in your area of interest as you are developing your work prior to publication. (Not everyone uses conferences this way, however--they're a classic means of padding one's CV). Since you're currently in a masters program (I think we talked off-forum once, right?), maybe you can talk to your adviser about this too. Mine's been very helpful.

 

[Ollie123]

Please don't start conducting your own study without talking to your advisor. Not only would that not be publishable, it would likely get you expelled from your school and/or barred from licensure. There is an extensive review process you need to go through, and the nature of it varies significantly by institution so you really need to talk to faculty about it. They will be able to point you in the right direction.

As for posters, no it doesn't need to be published beforehand and in fact rarely is...as wigflip indicated these are generally things that you are in the process of writing up. Exceptions are for major symposia/invited talks by more senior people who will talk about their overall line of work.

I'm very confused that it seems you want to do this for the monetary award. You do realize that 99.9% of posters will not result in an award, and even those that do will likely barely cover the costs of attending the conference to present it? As for what makes a good one that is likely to win an award....I don't know what to tell you other than "Make a groundbreaking discovery"? The question is way too broad. Curing cancer will likely get you an award, but that's not exactly easy to achieve. Develop a theoretically interesting question in an important area of research. Use solid methodology with tight controls. Apply appropriate statistical techniques. Write it up well...

 

[wigflip]

Please don't start conducting your own study without talking to your advisor. Not only would that not be publishable, it would likely get you expelled from your school and/or barred from licensure. There is an extensive review process you need to go through, and the nature of it varies significantly by institution so you really need to talk to faculty about it. They will be able to point you in the right direction.

Yup--the kinds of things you could investigate independent of IRB (Institutional Review Board) approval (such as a content analysis of existing, publicly available material like public sections of websites, representations of X in media) are likely to fall outside the realm of clin psych and align more closely with sociology, cultural studies, other area studies disciplines. If you are interested in doing something within psych, or anything whatsoever involving human subjects or confidential data, check your institutional website for their IRB policies and procedures.

Many folks find that the best way to get published is by getting hired/volunteering for a professor's lab. My empirical publications are all co-authored with profs who were gracious enough to share their data (and workload).

That said, I've never been to APA or the regional psych conferences, but you could certainly present some kind of position paper at an interdisciplinary conference (there's a gap in X literature, we need to move forward considering Y).

 

[LivingOffLoans]

Wow, I didn't know a lot of that. Glad I asked.

Of course, I'd love to have something like this on my CV. Any awards are really a bonus, being broke and all.

I am working on a study now that has potential for co-authorship. That's a good start. This is something I'm thinking about more for a little down the line. The more I can get going in my favor, the better.

Thanks for the insights. Please let me know if you think of any more.

 

[wigflip]

Thanks for the insights. Please let me know if you think of any more.

Consider reverse engineering your career, to the extent possible at least. Figure out what you want (understanding that this may change, as it does for many people), then find out who's doing what you want to do right now and what they did to get there. Then do that.

 

[LivingOffLoans]

Well, I know I want to have as much control possible over my career. I don't like/don't do well working under others. I need independence and flexibility so I can be my creative self.

So ultimately, I want a private practice, maybe even bring others on board at some point and supervise them. I'd also like to be an adjunct lecturer (which I mentioned in another thread) and contribute at least a few pieces of research. I'd also like to speak at CE conferences and be on panel discussions too. I am wildly creative and enjoy doing MANY different things.