Reflection and Evaluation

Reflection and Evaluation
Presenting Research: Who to? & How to?

Todays lecture provided us with some useful tips and things to consider when preparing to present our research. When giving a presentation it is important to keep in mind to whom we are presenting to, the audience may be diverse and it is important to be attentive to their varying perspectives. The audience could include clients, people from the industry, the public, professionals or academics, all of whom will have a varying degree of interest and knowledge to what it is that you are presenting. It is important to be clear and concise when addressing your audience and not bamboozle them with lots of jargon.

Disseminating your Research

There are various methods for disseminating your research, these could include:

• Blogs
• Academic Papers
• Academic Posters
• Academic Books
• Books for the Public
• Articles, Newspaper/Magazine
• Websites
• Social Media (Facebook Pages etc)

The main general principles include:

• Making your ideas understood to an ‘ignorant’ but intelligent community of peers.
• Set out your ideas and think of the perspectives of others (avoid an internal dialogue)
• Talk to yourself & externalise your ideas, use blogs, notebooks, sketchbooks.
• Give yourself time for ‘critical reflection’.

Keeping things simple is a good idea, as an over complicated presentation could become overwhelming if you start to become nervous. Practice and anticipate the conditions under which you will be working…REMEMBER “Practice Makes Perfect!” The structure of your presentation is paramount, keep it sequential and short.

Diagram of Presentation
(click for larger view)

The above diagram illustrates the research that has been collected, this is represented by the folder, and it is the job of the presenter to relay the information across to the audience in a clear and concise manner. This can be done by using signposts. Signposts are; titles, subheadings, text and graphics, allowing the information being received by the viewer to be more easily digested and absorbed.

Some guidelines for a successful presentation.

Our tutor told us about the “10, 20, 30 Rule”. This is not so much a rule, but more of a guideline and would suit the kinds of presentations that would be expected from us on our Masters Degree. Obviously there will be exceptions and this will not suit every presentation.

The 10, 20, 30 Rule

The 10, 20, 30 Rule
(click for larger view)