how to reference a poster presentation

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APA Citation Style, 7th Edition: Posters & Conference Sessions

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Citing Conference sessions, Poster abstracts, and Poster presentations

Conference sessions, poster abstracts, and poster presentations follow a significantly different format than other types of APA references.

• The author of the work is always listed first.
• Next, the FULL date of the conference is listed in the date area, so if a conference is held over several days, you need to list the date the conference starts, through the date the conference ends.
• Next add the title of the work and put it in italics, then add (in square brackets), whether it's a [Poster session], a [Poster abstract], or a [Conference session] and then add a period.
• In the source area share 1) the name of the conference or organization - or both (comma), 2) the name of the city or town the conference was held (comma), 3) the abbreviation of the state or the region (depending on the country) (comma), 4) the country the conference was held.
• Lastly share the URL of the WORK (not the conference in general) as a live hyperlink. 

Examples: 

Conference session : .

Hinck, J., Brewington, J., & Harding, K. (2018, September 12-14). Nurse educators - Making a difference in self and others to strengthen networks and partnerships [Conference session]. National League for Nursing, Chicago, IL, United States.  https://tinyurl.com/37bx7uku  

In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):

(Hinck, et al., 2018). 

Poster Abstract :

Jackson, C., McCalmont, J., Ward, J. Solanki, E., Seguin, R., & Perry, C. K. (2017, October 10). Mujeres fuertes y corazones saludables: Adaptation of the Strong Women - Healthy Hearts (SWHH) program for rural Latinas using an intervention mapping approach [Poster Abstract]. 2017 Oregon Public Health Association Annual Meeting, Portland, OR, United States.  https://tinyurl.com/y2panrdm  

(Jackson, et al., 2017). 

Poster Presentation :

NOTE: Because the poster presentations of this conference were presented in a journal, there are actually two ways you could cite this particular poster abstract, either way is acceptable in APA .  

Option 1 - Referencing ONLY the poster abstract itself : 

Leckenby, S., & Acklaghi, H. (2017, November 19-23). Is point-of-care troponin enough in decision making process in emergency departments [Poster Presentation]. ACEM ASM 2017 "Impossible is Just a Perspective" Darling Harbour, Sydney, Austalia.   https://tinyurl.com/cpkjbsu5

(Leckenby & Acklaghi, 2017). 

Option 2 - Referencing the poster abstract within the actual journal & supplement that printed the conference abstract : 

Leckenby, S., & Acklaghi, H. (2018). Is point-of-care troponin enough in decision making process in emergency departments [Poster Presentation]. Emergency Medicine Australasia, 30 (S1), 43-44.  https://doi.org/10.1111/1742-6723.12962  

Carrie Forbes, MLS

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Citation information has been adapted from the APA Manual (7th Edition). Please refer to page 332-333 of the APA Manual (7th Edition) for more information.

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• A Research Guide
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Useful Tips How to Cite a Presentation

How to cite a conference presentation – a short explanation, how to cite a presentation in apa style.

• In-text citations
• Reference List

How to compile a reference list

• The author’s or presenter’s name should be written starting with the surname then the initial of the first name separated by a comma then end with a period. If there is another name, write the first initial of the second name after the first. For example, “Brown, PK.”
• This should be followed by year it was presented or published online. The year should be written in round brackets. If you are not sure of the year, then ignore it and replace with the date you accessed the presentation online. For example, “Brown PK. (2017)”
• State the presentation title. This should be done in italics. After which the format of the presentation should be written in square brackets.
• If you accessed the presentation online, you should include the phrase Retrieved from before adding the website.

How to Cite a Poster Presentation in AMA

How to cite a presentation in mla.

• Use footnotes and endnotes
• Writing the name of the author or presenter
• Add information about the lecture or conference
• Include the digital medium used

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Scholarly Publication and Posters

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What and how to cite

Citing your poster in your cv.

When doing research, you are often building on the work of others and will sometimes take an idea, fact or quotation from someone else's work such as a book or article. If you are including such ideas/facts/quotations on your poster, you must cite your sources to give credit to other researchers and writers and so others can trace your research or retrieve the source material. The same is true for other kinds of sources such as pictures or other graphics that may be incorporated into the design of your poster.

If you have a handout to accompany your poster, you may list your references on that. If not, you should list them in small type at the bottom of the poster.

Different meeting sponsors/organizations may have differing styles for formatting citations. Use the style required in the abstract/poster guidelines or your research advisor

• Citation Management Visit the Citation Management Guide for more information on how to cite in APA, AMA, etc. style and how to manage citations.

Posters presented at meetings include both items that were only presented in this way or those which were followed by a publication. If you do follow a poster with a publication, cite that subsequent work on your CV rather than the meeting poster.

Regardless of the style you follow, elements for the citation will be the same: Author name(s), title of the poster, title of the conference/meeting, date, location. The conference may also have a descriptive "name" as well as a title.

In APA Style

Contributor, A. A., Contributor, B. B., Contributor, C. C., & Contributor, D. D. (Year, Month Day).  Title of contribution  [Description of contribution]. Title of Symposium/Conference, Location. URL (optional)

Matson, E. (2018, November 5).  Drones and autonomous vehicles: The latest new technology to come with potential threat  [Poster presentation]. Dawn or Doom 2018 Conference, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States.

Pearson, J. (2018, September 27-30).  Fat talk and its effects on state-based body image in women  [Poster presentation]. Australian Psychological Society Congress, Sydney, NSW, Australia. http://bit.ly/2XGSThP 

[ Purdue OWL ]

In AMA Style

Author AA, Author BB, Author CC. Title of poster. Poster presented at: Name of conference; Month, Day Year; City, State abbreviation.

Smyth ME, Caurdy-Bess L. Legal aid for children: a medical-legal partnership supported by CATCH funding. Poster presented at: 2010 Medical-Legal Partnership Summit; March, 2010; Arlington, VA.

Pasternak B. Carvedilol vs metoprolol succinate and risk of mortality in patients with heart failure: national cohort study. Paper presented at: European Society of Cardiology Congress; August 31, 2014; Barcelona, Spain.

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Citing Your Sources

• Academic Poster: Basic Components
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• As with research papers, it is important to give credit to sources referred to in an academic poster, i.e. books, articles, newspapers, websites, images, etc.
• Refer to the citation guides from the link below for examples of how to cite different types of sources in different styles.
• Generally speaking, choose the citation style for the discipline your poster represents. For example, with a science poster you might use CSE style; for the disciplines of Education or Social Work, APA; for History, Chicago style, etc.
• Important: If you have any doubts about which citation style to use, consult with your faculty supervisor.

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Best Practices for Citing Images: SFU Guide

This guide from SFU shows some best practices for citing images in APA, MLA, and CSE styles.

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APA Citation Style, 7th edition: Conferences

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About Citing Sources

For each type of source in this guide, both the general form and an example will be provided.

The following format will be used:

In-Text Citation (Paraphrase) - entry that appears in the body of your paper when you express the ideas of a researcher or author using your own words.  For more tips on paraphrasing check out The OWL at Purdue .

In-Text Citation (Quotation) - entry that appears in the body of your paper after a direct quote.

References - entry that appears at the end of your paper.

Information on citing and several of the examples were drawn from the APA Manual (7th ed.) .

Conference Sessions, Papers, and Posters

Note: Conference sessions, papers, and posters all follow the same citation style. The only change is in the brackets following the title of the contribution, denoting the format. Use the description provided by the conference, e.g. [Poster presentation], [Key-note address], [Conference session], etc.

General Format

In-Text Citation (Paraphrase):

(Presenter Surname, Year)

In-Text Citation (Quotation):

References:

Presenter Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year, Month Day-Day). Presentation title [Format]. Conference Name, Location. DOI or URL of website.

Tip: Include the full run of the conference in the date section, not just the day of the presentation.

(Pearson, 2018)

Pearson, J. (2018, September 27-30). Fat talk and its effects on state-based body image in women [Poster presentation]. Australian Psychological Society Congress, Sydney, NSW, Australia. http://bit.ly/2XGSThP 

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The 11th edition of the AMA Manual of style was created by the American Medical Association for the health, medical and scientific fields. This is a quick visual guide only. You must consult Chapter 3 in the online AMA manual for detailed explanations.

• In-text citing with superscripts
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Presentations

For further information go to ama manual 3.13.9 meeting presentations and other unpublished material..

References to unpublished material may include articles or abstracts that have been presented at a society meeting and published as part of the meeting proceedings or materials.

3.13.9.1 Items Presented at a Meeting.

UPDATE:  Guidance has been added to chapter  3.13.9.1 , Items Presented at a Meeting, to provide an example of how to cite materials from a virtual or hybrid meeting. This addition was made  May 26, 2022 .

Oral or poster presentations follow these formats. Note that example 4 is a virtual meeting. Hybrid meetings can list the location, the meeting URL, both, or neither depending on what information is available and how the author viewed the content.

1.  Pasternak B. Carvedilol vs metoprolol succinate and risk of mortality in patients with heart failure: national cohort study. Paper presented at: European Society of Cardiology Congress; August 31, 2014; Barcelona, Spain.

2.  Minocchieri S, Berry CA, Pillow J. Nebulized surfactant for treatment of respiratory distress in the first hours of life: the CureNeb study. Abstract presented at: Annual Meeting of the Pediatric Academic Society; May 6, 2013; Washington, DC. Session 3500.

3.  Nevidomskyte D, Meissner MH, Tran N, Murray S, Farrokhi E. Influence of gender on abdominal aortic aneurysm repair in the community. Poster presented at: Vascular Annual Meeting; June 5-7, 2014; Boston, MA.

4.  McNamee JJ, Gillies MA, Barrett NA, et al; for the REST Investigators. The REST Trial: ultra-low tidal volume ventilation & extracorporeal CO2 removal. Presented at: Critical Care Reviews; October 4, 2021.  https://criticalcarereviews.com/meetings/eccr21

Once these presentations are published, they take the form of reference to a book, journal, or other medium in which they are ultimately published, as in example 5 (see  3.12.1 , References to Books, Complete Data, and  3.11.1 , References to Journal Articles, Complete Data):

4.  Huang G-M, Huang K-Y, Lee T-Y, Tzu-Ya Weng J. An interpretable rule-based diagnostic classification of diabetic nephropathy among type 2 diabetes patients.  BMC Bioinformatics.  2015;16(suppl 1):S5. Selected articles from the Thirteenth Asia Pacific Bioinformatics Conference (APBC 2015). doi:10.1186/1471-2105-16-S1-S5

In example 4, the entire journal supplement is dedicated to publishing articles from a meeting.

5.  Resnick ML. The effect of affect: decision making in the emotional context of health care. In:  Proceedings of the 2012 Symposium on Human Factors and Ergonomics in Health Care: Bridging the Gap . Human Factors and Ergonomics Society; 2012:39-44.

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Characteristics of References

• Provides the reader with information about who conducted the research, when it was published and the journal that published the work.
• Provides detailed information about author names, article title, journal name, volume, issue and page numbers so that readers can easily find the source of the information.
• Acknowledges the scientist(s) who conducted the research and/or the journal article where the research was originally published.  

The References (or Bibliography) section should list all the sources of information that were used in the poster.   This section appears at the end of the poster.   The References section ( Figs. 2 and 8 ) typically contains all journal articles (i.e., primary sources) but it can also contain secondary sources (e.g., newspapers, documentaries, government reports).   References tell the reader where the original data, information, technique, and/or method can be obtained, who conducted the work and when the paper was published.    

In posters, in-text citations are used to tell the reader where information was obtained.   An in-text citation should appear after every sentence in the poster that describes the work of others.   This includes all sentences that describe discoveries, findings, data, information, experiments, results, techniques, methods, dates, locations, etc.  

In-text citations can be done using either (1) superscript numbers or (2) authors last name, followed by year published.  

• Polar bear cubs were 25% larger when fed a high-protein diet compared to high-sugar diet. 1      
• Polar bear cubs were 25% larger when fed a high-protein diet compared to high-sugar diet (Jones and Smith, 2018).  

The “1” and “Jones and Smith, 2018” both refer to the same journal article:   E.J. Jones and W. A. Smith (2018), Journal of Natural Science, Vol. 53, Issue 12, pages 36-45.   Both types of in-text citations are acceptable for use in posters.   Authors typically choose superscript numbers to save space.      

Formatting References

You have likely been taught about MLA (Modern Language Association of America) or APA (American Psychological Association) formatting and style guide in middle or high school.   Many of you are likely proficient in these styles.   For most posters you likely will not follow the MLA nor APA styles when citing your sources.   There is a practical explanation for why these two styles often are not used in a poster. It is because there are thousands of different professional scientific societies around the world and each society has its own preferred formatting style that they use in publications for their journals and conferences.   Therefore, citation styles will vary depending on where a poster is presented.   In fact, many scientists use software, that, with a click of a button, will transform all of their citations into the proper style and format for any journal or conference.

Nonetheless, we provide 15 examples below of how one could cite primary sources (examples 1-5 below) and secondary sources (examples 6-15 below) of information in a scientific poster.  

Figure 8. References List

Citing Primary Sources

Peer-reviewed journal articles are considered primary sources.   Patents and Published Technical Reports from Government Agencies and Universities are also considered primary sources of information.   Five examples of how to cite primary sources are numbered below 1-5.  

1. Journal Article in Print:   Most journals are printed on paper others are entirely available online.   Authors Names. (Year Published in parenthesis). Article Title.   Journal Name, Volume Number (Issue Number in parenthesis): Page Numbers.  

1A. Journal Article with one or two authors:

McMurran, M. and Christopher, G. (2009). Bayes factors increases criminal sentence recommendations. Legal & Criminological Psychology, 14(1):101-107.

1B. Journal Article with more than two authors:  

Post, E., et al. (2009). Genome studies of quorum sensing organisms. Science, 325(5946):1355-1358.

2. Online Journal Article:   These journals are electronic and not printed on paper.   Authors Names. (Year Published in parenthesis). Title of article. Journal name. Volume number and or page numbers.   Include complete URL link in full or DOI if known.    

Dionne, M.S. and Schneider, D.S. (2002). Adaptive mutability in targeted microRNA infections. Genome Biol. 3:10.3559. http://genomebiology.com/2002/3/4/reviews/1010  

3. Government Technical Report in Print: Author names or name of organization. (Year Published in parenthesis). Report title.   Report Number. Name of government agency that published report, Place of publication.  

Smith, G.I. and Chen Y.P. (2018). Growth stages and tolerable fire intervals for Georgia’s native vegetation data sets. Report no. 247. U.S. Department of Interior. New York, NY, USA.

4. Government Technical Report Published Online: Author names or name of organization. (Year Published in parenthesis). Report title.   Report Number. Name of government agency that published report. Place of publication.   Date retrieved followed by complete URL link in full or DOI if known.  

Spandone, H.K. et al. (2017). Energy futures for Midwestern wind farms. Report no. C2.4715.12. U.S. Department of Energy. Washington D.C., USA.   Retrieved on February 15, 2017 from https://www.energy.gov/science-innovation/energy-sources/renewable-energy/wind

5. Patent : Author names. Date in parenthesis. Title of patented item, technique, method or process. Patent number.

Odell, J.C. (1970, April). Process for batch culturing. U.S. patent 484,363,770.

Citing Secondary Sources

Secondary sources report on and interpret results that have been presented in primary sources.   Secondary sources include books, documentaries, magazines, newspapers, podcasts, webpages from government agencies and universities.   Ten examples of how to cite secondary sources are numbered below 6-15.      

6. Book Chapter : Authors names. (Date of publication in parenthesis). Chapter title, page numbers. Editors of book, Book Title, Place of publication.   Name of publisher.  

Forman, M.S., and Valsamakis, A. (2003). Specimen collection, transport, and processing: virology, p. 1227-1241. Murray, P.R., et al. (Eds.), Manual of clinical microbiology, 8th ed, Washington, D.C. Penguin Press.  

Anderegg, D. (2007). Nerds: Who they are and why we need more of them. New York, NY. Jeremy P. Tarcher, Penguin Press.  

8. Magazine Article in Print :

Road map to a great deal. (2009, October). Consumer Reports, 74(10), 44-47.

9. Magazine Article Published Online :

Taibbi, M. (2009, September 3). Sick and wrong. Rolling Stone, 1086, 58-65. Retrieved on February 22, 2020 from http://www.rollingstone.com  

10. Newspaper Article in Print:

Lucchetti, A. & Craig, S. (2009, September 11). Morgan Stanley taps new boss. The Wall Street Journal, pp. A1, A16.  

11. Newspaper Article Published Online :

Moran, S. (2009, September 7). If you don’t snooze, you lose: Most Americans aren’t getting enough sleep. And for both adults and students, there are health consequences. Star Tribune. Retrieved on August 6, 2019 from http://www.startribune.com /  

12. Podcast :

Nature (Producer). (2009, July 16). Moon gazing in the Southern hemisphere, Audio podcast. Retrieved on November 5,2009, from http://www.nature.com/nature/podcast/index-2009-07-16.html  

13. Documentary, Video or Movie :

Donner, R. & Lee, S. (Producers), & Hood, G. (Director). (2009). X-Men Origins: Wolverine [DVD]. USA: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation.  

14. Personal Web Page : In most instances a web page is not used as a reference in a poster.  

Wilson, E.O. (1999, September). Biological Diversity: The Oldest Human Heritage, New York State Museum, Albany. Retrieved on July 12, 2020 from https://eowilsonfoundation.org/e-o-wilson/  

15. Web Page of Organization or Group of Authors : In most instances, a webpage is not used as a reference in a poster.  

National Museum of American History. (2006, July 7). National museum of American history displays recent hip-hop acquisitions. Retrieved from https://americanhistory.si.edu  

Scientific Posters: A Learner's Guide Copyright © 2020 by Ella Weaver; Kylienne A. Shaul; Henry Griffy; and Brian H. Lower is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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APA Style 6th Edition: Citing Your Sources

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Unpublished Paper

Contributor Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year, Month of presentation). Title of contribution. In First Initial. Second Initial. Chairperson Surname (Chair), Title of conference. Conference conducted at the meeting of Organization Name, Location.

Paper Presentation or Poster Session

Presenter Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year, Month). Title of paper or poster session. Paper presented at the meeting of Organization Name, Location.

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Answered By: Hacherl Research & Writing Studio Last Updated: Apr 27, 2020     Views: 171045

The APA website provides guidance on citing poster presentations here:  https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/conference-presentation-references

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In your Works Cited, you'll want to include as much of the information below as you can:

• Artist’s name or username, surname first
• Title of the work, in italics
• Date of creation
• Institution or city in in which the work is located
• Website or database, in italics
• Medium of publication
• Date of access

The citation will typically look like this:

Artist or user name.  Title.  Date the image was created.  Museum, City.  Web.  Database name or title of site.  Date of access.

Chicago Style

In your Bibliography, you'll want to include as much of the information below as you can:

• Artist's name or username
• Title or brief description
• The word "image" in paranetheses
• URL of website where the image was originally shown, in brackets

Artist's name.  Title or description (image).  Available from: Website or database.  <URL>.  (Accessed on date). 

This free online bibliography and citation maker will create citations for you in MLA, APA, and Chicago/Turabian styles. Click on the "All 58 options" tab and choose digital image. It will then ask you to fill out as much information as you know, and will format your citation for you. 

Below are examples of citations, done in MLA and Chicago style, respectively.

Ernst, Max.  L'Ange du Foyer.  (1937).  Private Collection.  Web.  Google Image Search.  April 1 2010.

Jean Droit. Debout dans la tranchee que l'aurore eclaire, le soldat reve a la victoire et a son foyer (Image).  Available from: Illinois Harvest.  <http://images.library.uiuc.edu:8081/u?/wwposters,0>.  (April 1 2010).

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• Nov 14, 2023

How to effectively incorporate citations into your scientific poster

Imagine this: You're fervently collating your latest research into a visually compelling scientific poster. You’ve written your attention-grabbing title , picked a cohesive colour scheme , and planned a logical layout for your content. ✨

Suddenly, you encounter a problem — what do you do about citations and references? 🤔

You have so many “essential” papers, your poster is sure to look cluttered. So, should you include them?

It’s a divisive subject! A recent poll we conducted on LinkedIn revealed a striking split among our audience: 60% believed yes, posters should have references, while the other 40% thought no.

We believe references and citations on scientific posters are optional, not mandatory! But if you choose to include them, we have 3 simple tips to create a clean, reader-friendly and award-winning design . 🔬

The problem with citations and references

We understand that references can demonstrate credibility and integrity, and provide a thread for those interested to pull at for additional information.

However, it's also true that they can turn your poster into a hot mess if not handled properly. 🫣

Disrupt the flow of text. 📝

Fragment your sentences. 💔

Clutter your poster reducing negative space. 🫨

Decrease readability. 😵‍💫

And reduce visual appeal. 🙅🏽‍♀️

The challenge of including citations without compromising readability and aesthetics is real. AND we get it! Formatting citations and references can be a nightmare at the best of times!

And this task only becomes that much harder when you apply it to a scientific poster, with limited space.

Tip 1: Choose your in-text citation style wisely

Unlike a journal article, the referencing style for a scientific conference poster is often not dictated. So the choice is up to you!

And what a difference it can make. Let's take a look.👇

Avoid (author, date) in-text citation styles for a scientific poster.

While (author, date) citation styles are common, they can easily clutter and disrupt the smooth flow of text on your scientific poster!

Some common styles are:

APA (American Psychological Association)

Harvard referencing

MLA (Modern Language Association)

And the list goes on.

Don’t get us wrong, these styles certainly have their place. In fact, they are often required for journal submissions and University assessments. But here is the problem, they take up too much space! So we recommend you steer clear of all (author, date) in-text citation styles for scientific posters.

Use footnotes, endnotes or a numbered citation style instead!

Just like a well-placed puzzle piece 🧩 footnotes, endnotes and numbered citations seamlessly integrate into the text, offering the necessary source information without overloading the text. ✨

So, what’s the difference between a footnote, endnote and numbered citation, you ask?

Well when it comes to a scientific poster a footnote and an endnote are indistinguishable. A footnote appears at the bottom of the page containing the sentence to which it refers. Whilst endnotes are lists at the end of the document , similar to a reference list or bibliography.

Since a scientific poster is only one page, both terms can be used interchangeably.

A numbered citation style, such as Vancouver referencing, has the same principle. And can either be written in line with the text within rounded brackets (1) or using superscript¹.

As you can see, that small little superscript number does not overwhelm the sentence, drastically increase the amount of text or clutter the poster. However it does still provide appropriate recognition to previous work and give both you and the reader essential sources to refer to, if needed.

We recommend to use footnotes, endnotes or a numbered citation style, for your scientific poster.

Tip 2: Use only 3-4 essential references

This may be the most important tip! We recommend limiting the number of references to a maximum of 3 to 4, focusing on the most impactful and relevant sources to your research. 🔬

There are two main ways to do this:

Reduce the amount of content on your poster! ✅ Distil your introduction, methods and conclusion down to the core points and avoid introducing too many new concepts. This makes your poster more accessible and automatically decreases the number of references required. Talk about win win!

Reduce the number of references per finding! ✅ In contrast to a manuscript or a literature review, where you cite every single paper that has came to the same conclusion, instead just cite the first original paper, or the most impactful to your work. This will limit the number of necessary citations and references.

Tip 3: Format your reference list to be as concise as possible

Unfortunately, your reference list can get long—wayy too long—taking up valuable real estate on your poster if you are not careful. 🙃

Here are our top tips to minimise your reference list:

Reduce the number of references We said it before, and we’ll say it again! Limit yourself to 3 or 4 necessary references. This will, as you guessed, give you more space in your reference list.

Keep text small As long as it’s readable the text of your reference list can be smaller than your body text, if needed.

Stick to the essentials Format your references to be as concise as possible and include only the necessary information, such as:

✍🏻 First author

📗 Journal details

So, there you have it! Creating a clean, clutter-free poster with appropriate citations is entirely achievable. 🙌 The key lies in selecting the right style to seamlessly incorporate them into your scientific poster, reserving citations for only the absolutely essential references and formatting your reference list to be super-duper concise.

Still feel like you want some extra help?

We’ve only just scratched the surface on what makes a clean and clutter-free poster!

Here at Animate Your Science, we’ve developed a whole online course: How to Design an Award-Winning Scientific Poster to take you through the key design principles of designing a poster. With nothing but positive reviews from academics all over the world, we think you will love our award-winning formula too.

You can go at your own pace, with only 3 hours of learning across 33 video lessons, you can arm yourself with the skills and knowledge to create your own captivating scientific posters. As a bonus, we also include 8 templates & downloads for you! 🤩

Learn more about our online scientific poster here or contact our team today to maximise your research poster’s impact. ✨

Related Posts

How to Design an Award-Winning Scientific Conference Poster

Best examples of scientific posters

How to deliver an engaging scientific poster presentation: Dos and Don’ts!

Posters and Presentations: Referencing

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• Referencing your poster Click here to download a PDF version of the Referencing Your Poster document

Referencing on your poster

It is important to gain clarification from your lecturer about their expectations around referencing on your poster.

Read your assessment instructions carefully, including the marking criteria - which may give you tips and hints for how your poster should be presented and referenced.

Make sure to leave enough space to account for your in-text references and reference list on any poster you design. Generally, a reference list is presented in a box on the poster itself, or is the final slide in a Powerpoint presentation.

As always your in-text citations and reference list need to be formatted properly according to the style for your discipline.

• Referencing Guide This guide will help you identify and use the correct referencing style to acknowledge the information sources you use in your writing.

Citing in Orals

Most referencing style guides are designed for written works, so it is difficult to find advice on how to cite your sources when you are speaking in an oral presentation.

Paraphrasing: For the words you speak, if an "in-text" citation would be needed you will need to mention the authors in the sentence: "As Thompson and DePaul mentioned in 2020, children will learn to…"

Quoting: Draw attention to the direct quote with your words: "Wang et al. stated, and I quote, 'little can be done.'" "As Winston Stuart said, 'this is only the first step.'"

Some disciplines (for example, law) have specific conventions for the kind of oral presentation you are delivering. Check with your lecturer to see if there are conventions you should be following.

• Further examples of citing in orals If you need further explanation and examples on citing in orals, look at this quick FAQ.
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• Leeds Harvard referencing examples

Leeds Harvard: Poster

Reference examples, conference poster.

Family name, INITIAL(S) (of the author). Year.  Title . [Poster]. Event name (if applicable), date, location (for where the poster was exhibited).

Brooks, I. 2013.  Paper chains and octopuses: an activities based information skills session . [Poster]. Librarians' Information Literacy Annual Conference, 25-27 March, The University of Manchester Library.

Poster viewed online

Family name, INITIAL(S) (of the author). Year.  Title . [Online poster]. [Date accessed]. Available from: URL

Smith, R. 2013.  Did you know? Marketing information literacy training . [Online poster]. [Accessed 5 May 2017]. Available from:  http://www.slideshare.net/

If no author is identifiable, start the reference with the title of the poster, followed by the year.

Citation examples

Author and date.

When the author name is not mentioned in the text, the citation consists of the author’s name and the year of publication in brackets.

It was emphasised that citations in the text should be consistent (Jones, 2017).

If you have already named the author in the text, only the publication year needs to be mentioned in brackets.

Jones (2017) emphasised that citations in the text should be consistent.

Three or more authors

If a source has three or more authors, the name of the first author should be given, followed by the phrase "et al."

It was emphasised that citations in a text should be consistent (Jones et al., 2017).

Jones et al. (2017) emphasised that citations in a text should be consistent.

Leeds Harvard does not use ibid to refer to previously cited items. If you are citing the same item twice in a row (i.e. you do not cite any other items in the text between the two citations) you must write the full citation again. As usual, if you are directly quoting or paraphrasing specific ideas, you should include a page number (if there is one). 

Jones et al. (2017, p.24) emphasised that citations in a text should be consistent and argued that referencing is a key part of academic integrity (2017, p.27). Furthermore, having a broad range of references in a text is an indicator of the breadth of a scholar's reading and research (Jones et al., 2017, p.14).

Corporate author

If the item is produced by an organisation, treat the organisation as a "corporate author". This means you can use the name of the organisation instead of that of an individual author. This includes government departments, universities or companies. Cite the corporate author in the text the same way as you would an individual author.

According to a recent report, flu jabs are as important as travel vaccines (Department of Health, 2017).  

Common issues

When you're referencing with Leeds Harvard you may come across issues with missing details, multiple authors, edited books, references to another author's work or online items, to name a few. Here are some tips on how to deal with some common issues when using Leeds Harvard.

Skip straight to the issue that affects you:

• Online items
• URL web addresses
• Multiple authors
• Corporate author(s) or organisation(s)
• Multiple publisher details
• Editions and reprints
• Missing details
• Multiple sources with different authors
• Sources written by the same author in the same year
• Sources with the same author in different years
• Two authors with the same surname in the same year
• The work of one author referred to by another
• Anonymising sources for confidentiality
• Identifying the authors’ family name (surname)

How to Create a Research Poster

• Poster Basics
• Design Tips
• Logos & Images

What is a Research Poster?

Posters are widely used in the academic community, and most conferences include poster presentations in their program.  Research posters summarize information or research concisely and attractively to help publicize it and generate discussion. 

The poster is usually a mixture of a brief text mixed with tables, graphs, pictures, and other presentation formats. At a conference, the researcher stands by the poster display while other participants can come and view the presentation and interact with the author.

What Makes a Good Poster?

• Important information should be readable from about 10 feet away
• Title is short and draws interest
• Word count of about 300 to 800 words
• Text is clear and to the point
• Use of bullets, numbering, and headlines make it easy to read
• Effective use of graphics, color and fonts
• Consistent and clean layout
• Includes acknowledgments, your name and institutional affiliation

A Sample of a Well Designed Poster

View this poster example in a web browser .  

Image credit: Poster Session Tips by [email protected], via Penn State

Where do I begin?

Answer these three questions:.

• What is the most important/interesting/astounding finding from my research project?
• How can I visually share my research with conference attendees? Should I use charts, graphs, photos, images?
• What kind of information can I convey during my talk that will complement my poster?

What software can I use to make a poster?

A popular, easy-to-use option. It is part of Microsoft Office package and is available on the library computers in rooms LC337 and LC336. ( Advice for creating a poster with PowerPoint ).

Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign

Feature-rich professional software that is good for posters including lots of high-resolution images, but they are more complex and expensive.  NYU Faculty, Staff, and Students can access and download the Adobe Creative Suite .

Open Source Alternatives 

• OpenOffice is the free alternative to MS Office (Impress is its PowerPoint alternative).
• Inkscape and Gimp are alternatives to Adobe products.
• For charts and diagrams try Gliffy or Lovely Charts .
• A complete list of free graphics software .

A Sample of a Poorly Designed Poster

View this bad poster example in a browser.

Image Credit: Critique by Better Posters

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• Last Updated: Jul 11, 2023 5:09 PM
• URL: https://guides.nyu.edu/posters

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General Rules

• How to format in-text citations in your document.
• Author/editor names:  Last name + First name initial + Middle name initial (if available). e.g., Armand Peter Smith = Smith AP.
• The names of all authors and editors should be given.  See Reference List General Rules for the use of "et al."
• No authors, organization, or editors listed?  Contact  [email protected]  to ask a librarian.
• Titles:   Capitalize only the first word of a title, proper nouns, proper adjectives, acronyms, and initialisms.  Do not use quotation marks or italics for titles.
• Subtitles:  Use the colon (i.e.,  :  ) to separate the title from the subtitle. e.g., Rural healthcare: a definitive guide.
• Dates:   Whenever possible use the date format [YYYY Mon DD].
• Proper nouns:  Always capitalize the first initial of country/city, person, clinical tool, organization, and/or association names.
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