PRESENTING YOUR WORK AT A SCIENTIFIC MEETING

1. PRESENTING YOUR WORK AT A SCIENTIFIC MEETING Susan Hall Hon. Professor of paediatrics, UCT

2. FIRST GET ACCEPTED! PREPARING THE ABSTRACT MOST IMPORTANT: read the instructions

3. FINAL ANNOUNCEMENT ANNUAL RESEARCH DAYS 2010 SCHOOL OF CHILD AND ADOLESCENT HEALTH 19th and 20th October (Tuesday afternoon and full day Wednesday) Abstract deadline: Friday, 10th September

4. Am I being realistic (1)? • Is my work at a stage which will allow me to prepare an abstract by this date? • Is this the right audience? • Am I dependent on colleagues to meet the deadline?

5. Am I being realistic (2)? • Will the boss let me go to Hawaii for 2 weeks? • How much does it cost and who will pay? • What if my abstract is accepted? • Can I set aside enough time to prepare my slides and rehearse my talk?

6. ROYAL COLLEGE OF PAEDIATRICS AND CHILD HEALTH ANNUAL SCIENTIFIC MEETING 2011 Abstract instructions: The title should be as brief as possible but long enough to indicate clearly the nature of the study. The maximum word count INCLUDING TITLE is 350 words. Aims: Clearly state the purpose of the abstract Methods: Describe your selection of observations or experimental subjects clearly Results: Conclusion: Present your results in a logical sequence in text, tables and illustrations - IF RESULTS ARE NOT INCLUDED THEN YOUR ABSTRACT WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED Clearly state the conclusion of your study.

7. SCAH RESEARCH DAY INSTRUCTIONS Abstracts to be no longer than 1x A4 page, in 11 point, Times New Roman. Title to be in CAPITAL LETTERS with the presenting author's name underlined. Where possible the abstracts should be structured using the following headings:

8. SCAH RESEARCH DAY INSTRUCTIONS Objective: Precise statement of the question addressed. Methods: Brief description of the methods used, including data sources, selection procedures, interventions, and methods of analyses Results: Description of what was found, with major data (if appropriate). Conclusions: Brief statement of what conclusions can be drawn from the results, avoiding over-generalisation Ethics approval number:…(discuss with Research Day Organizers:

9. PREPARING THE ABSTRACT • “How to Prepare an Abstract” • Rebecca P. Winsett, PhD et al • http://www.natco1.org/research/files/HowtoPrepareAnAbstract_001.pdf

10. FRAMEWORK OF THE ABSTRACT = THAT OF THE ORAL PRESENTATION • Title • As brief as possible • Background/introduction : • Why am I doing this? • What prompted this study? • What is the research question? • Are you testing a hypothesis? • What is the problem you are trying to solve?

11. Background (ctd) • Brief literature review – • what else is known ? • Or are you breaking • new ground? • If not, why is this • project necessary?

12. IS IT AN AUDIT OR A CASE SERIES (1)? • Clinical Audit is defined as "a quality improvement process that seeks to improve patient care and outcomes through systematic review of care against explicit criteria and the implementation of change".

13. Types Of Clinical Audit • Standards-based audit - A cycle which involves defining standards, collecting data to measure current practice against those standards, and implementing any changes deemed necessary. • Adverse occurrence screening and critical incident monitoring • Peer review - An assessment of the quality of care provided by a clinical team with a view to improving clinical care. • Patient surveys and focus groups -

14. Is it an audit or a case series? AUDIT CYCLE

15. STATE CLEARLY:THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY Aims Objectives ( Methods - Results) Conclusions

16. METHODS • Should relate to the objectives • Consider your audience • If highly technical think about how much detail needed to ensure understanding without making it too long • Always always define abbreviations ! • State reliability and validity of research instruments, if known, no need for detail • State the outcome variables and how they were measured – • just those that support the purpose/objectives

17. METHODS (ctd) Specify a case definition for clinical or epidemiological studies Say whether internationally accepted/ used before but not widely/ drawn up by yourself Say how the “subjects” were selected Regardless of whether they are lab samples or patient Particularly crucial for qualitative studies

18. Methods (ctd) • Geography

19. Methods (ctd) • Describe briefly the methods of analysis of the data • Research Ethics Committee Review often not specifically requested for the abstract but should be mentioned in the presentation. If not obtained – say why not?

20. RESULTS The meat of both abstract and presentation! • Describe your sample • Only present results that relate to your purpose statement/objectives and present them in the same order • Tables can also provide the best illustration in the abstract but not always acceptable in online submissions

21. CONCLUSION / PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS • Relate your conclusions to your aims/objectives/purpose • Indicate how your findings have relevance to other populations or clinical or laboratory practice • What are the implications for future practice or research?

22. Conclusions (ctd) • Make sure they are justified by the results • Outline the weaknesses of your study • eg my sample may not have been representative of that population of patients as a whole • my sample was not large enough to detect a true difference between the groups What next? Why it wasn’t a “so what” study! Finish with a punchy “take home” message

23. The Presentation

24. The presentation • Timekeeping Read the instructions Rehearse Get to the venue in plenty of time Check out the facilities • BYO pointer • Think about BYO laptop for some venues • Print off your slides as back up

25. The presentation (ctd) Rehearsal at the venue (if possible) Use of microphone: (check if directional) During the presentation During question time Stance Face the audience not the screen Don’t wander, avoid grand gestures

26. The presentation: slides

27. Presentation: the slides • Biggest font possible (if possible check legibility from the back of the venue or a large room) • Check for typos and spelling • Check colour combinations work together

28. MY PROJECT • I have made the greatest discovery since Crick and Watson described the structure of DNA

29. Presentation: the slides • Biggest font possible (if possible check legibility from the back of the venue or a large room) • Check for typos and spelling • Check colour combinations work together • Pictures and maps • How many slides? - depends on the complexity of the content

30. Busy slides

31. GIMMICKS • TEXT THAT COMES SPIRALLING IN • CAN BE VERY DISTRACTING

32. GIMMICKS • SOME ARE USEFUL TO AVOID HAVING TO TURN YOUR BACK ON THE AUDIENCE IN ORDER TO SEE THE SCREEN OR USE THE POINTER

33. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS • Colleagues • Funders • Patients, parents

34. Finally –question time • Advance planning • Ask colleagues (rehearsal) • If you think the back of the audience hasn’t heard – repeat the question • Don’t forget the microphone • If you don’t know the answer, say so!