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Research and the State
In this annual forum, K-State graduate students present posters of their research or scholarly work to the campus community. Ten presenters are selected to represent K-State at the annual Capitol Graduate Research Summit (CGRS) held in the spring at the State Capitol Building, where graduate students present their posters to state legislators and the public.
2021 event details
Poster presentations
October 27, 1:00 - 3:00pm
Courtyard, K-State Student Union
View the Research and the State Abstract Booklet
Announcement of winners
October 27, 4:00 pm
Big 12 Room, K-State Student Union
Who may participate?
ALL K-State graduate students are invited to participate in this event and share the value of their research in relation to topics of interest to the Kansas Legislature and citizens of the state.
Common topics of interest to legislators
The following are topics that are of interest to Kansas legislators. However, participation in the poster session is NOT limited to research/scholarly work in these areas. All participants
Topics of interest:
sustainable water supply; economic development and job creation; workforce development; plant and animal health; food safety: from farm to fork; health conditions impacting the health of Kansas including cancer, obesity, diabetes, and other conditions; health care costs; alternative health care; community development and quality of life in rural communities; alternative and sustainable energy sources; education: student achievement and student testing; business attraction in the state. Also refer to Kansas House and Senate standing committees to identify areas of interest to state legislators.
Participation guidelines
- Graduate students from ALL disciplines are welcome to participate in Research and the State.
- To participate in the 2021 Research and the State, you must be enrolled as a graduate student at K-State in both the Fall 2021 semester and the Spring 2022 semester. Spring semester enrollment is required because if you are selected to participate in the Capitol Graduate Research Summit (CGRS), which takes place in the spring, you must be enrolled as a graduate student at K-State at that time.
- You may NOT present work that you completed at another institution. You may present only work that you have completed at K-State as a graduate student. If you have co-authors working at another institution, that is acceptable, but your contribution to the work must have been completed during your time as a graduate student at K-State.
- You must give a poster presentation. This event does NOT include oral presentations.
- You may serve as the presenter for only one presentation, and there may be only one official presenter for each presentation. Co-presenters are not permitted.
- You may NOT give a presentation of data that have been previously presented at Research and the State, the K-State GRAD Forum, or the Capitol Graduate Research Summit (CGRS).
- RESULTS MUST BE INCLUDED in the abstract and in the poster presentation.
- Prior consent of major advisor and/or faculty funding the research and all co-authors is required before submitting the abstract.
- Only fully completed submissions will be reviewed. You will NOT be able to save a partially completed submission. If more than one submission is made under your name, only your most recent submission will be reviewed.
- In addition to completing the online registration form, you must use the ABSTRACT TEMPLATE to submit an abstract of your poster presentation and a summary of how your research relates to issues of interest to the Kansas Legislature. You will upload your abstract at the end of the registration form.
- Your abstract and poster presentation must be prepared for a diverse audience who are NOT experts in your discipline.
- Only the student listed as the presenter in the registration form may serve as the poster presenter at Research and the State and at the CGRS in Spring 2022 if selected as one of the K-State representatives.
- In order to be selected as an award-winning presenter at Research and the State, you must be available to participate in the CGRS.
- Submissions that do not comply with these guidelines and requirements, including abstract formatting, may be rejected from participation in Research and the State.
Registration and abstract submission - CLOSED
- Download the abstract template.
- Save the document using the following file name format: Last Name, First Name.docx
(e.g., “Smith, John.docx.”). - Your abstract must be written in a way that students and faculty from a variety of academic disciplines and the general public can understand. Please DO NOT prepare a technical abstract as you would for an audience of experts in your field.
- All abstracts must follow the same formatting style. Use the abstract template to ensure correct formatting.
- All margins must be .5 inches.
- Single space throughout the abstract with the exception of spacing between sections as shown in the abstract template.
- Times New Roman, 12 point font throughout the abstract.
- Title in bold and all caps (lowercase, italics, superscripts, and subscripts may be used when technically necessary).
- INCLUDE headers for the broad sections in your abstract (e.g., Background, Method, Results, and Conclusion).
- Your abstract must not exceed 250 words. Title, author information, and section headers are not included in the word count.
- Author names – Include first and last names of all authors in the order determined appropriate by the authors. DO NOT include professional titles (e.g., use “John Smith,” NOT “Dr. John Smith”). Bold the name of the presenting author.
- Author affiliations – For K-State authors, list the author’s department. For others from other institutions, list the department and the university.
- Use numerical superscripts to distinguish authors with different affiliations. Superscripts are not needed if all authors have the same affiliation.
- Refer to Sample abstracts - Refer to previous abstract booklets to see examples of correct formatting.
- Review and proofread your abstract. Please make sure your abstract is free of grammatical errors.
- Upload your abstract at the end of the online registration form. You must receive approval of all co-authors prior to submitting your abstract.
Poster and presentation guidelines
- Posters for Research and the State must not exceed 4 feet in width and 3 feet in height. These are the dimensions that will be required for posters selected for the Capitol Gradaute Research Summit. Posters that exceed these dimensions may be disqualified.
- Posters will be hung on portable walls and push pins will be provided. Presenters just need to bring their poster!
- Mounting posters to foam boards and attaching three-dimensional objects to posters is discouraged because these materials can make it difficult to attach the poster to the portable walls.
- Presenters must prepare a 3-minute oral presentation of their poster for the judges and be prepared to answer questions.
- Presenters are to check-in and set-up their posters between 12:15pm-1:00pm in the Union Courtyard on October 27.
Tips for a successful presentation
- Posters should be designed and presented in a way that can be understood by a broad audience. You will be presenting your work to an academically diverse audience, so you should not present your work in the same way that you would for experts in your field.
- View videos of Three Minute Thesis competition winners and utilize Three Minute Thesis preparation resources to prepare the three-minute oral presentation of your poster.
- View a video on How to Create a Better Research Poster in Less Time, which includes links to poster templates.
- The Writing Center is an excellent resource for helping students effectively communicate their research to a broad audience. Presenters are encouraged to contact the Writing Center to schedule an appointment with a tutor.
Faculty, staff, and post-doc judge volunteers
Time Commitment
- Arrive to the Union Courtyard at 12:45pm on October 27
- Poster judging will begin at 1:00pm
- The duration of poster judging may be anywhere from 1 hour to 2.5 hours and will be determined after the abstract submission deadline on September 17. If you are available for at least the minimum time commitment, you are encouraged to volunteer.
The GSC Research Forums Committee will contact volunteers in mid- to late-October with notification of their judging assignment or to inform them that they are not needed to serve as a judge
Evaluating posters in diverse disciplines
Judges may be assigned to evaluate posters in an area of research very different from their own research/scholarly background. Graduate students participating in Research and the State are competing for selection to represent K-State at the Capitol Graduate Research Summit (CGRS) where they will have the opportunity to share their work with state legislators. It is important that students participating in the CGRS are able to effectively communicate their research to the general public. To provide an evaluation of poster presentations from this perspective, some judges will be assigned to evaluate posters in an area of research very different from their own research/scholarly background.
Judging related questions may be directed to the Graduate Student Council at egsc@ksu.edu.
Questions about research forums may be directed to the Graduate Student Council at egsc@ksu.edu or the Graduate School at 785-532-6191.