Quantitative Presentations

Oral presentations in the sciences and mathematics often describe the results of original or replicated research. Your audience will expect your presentations to be grounded in the scientific method and to provide detailed information about methods used in gathering and analyzing data. Credible presentations must clearly illustrate the nature of the research question and the means by which results were achieved.

Audience Analysis:
Essentially your audience wants to know the processes by which your experimental results were obtained and exactly what were those results. First you must determine who your audience is and how well they will know your scientific methods and terminology. A presentation for your science or math class or conference will need less explaining than a presentation for a variety of listeners. An audience at SpARC will have a mixture of audience members, from faculty to students from all disciplines, so you should explain more difficult concepts in greater detail and avoid jargon that might confuse the audience member more than help them.

Visual Aids:
Clearly executed presentation aids often are critical to effective scientific and mathematical presentations because the terminology and concepts are difficult for the audience to grasp without a visual. Aids can range from slides generated with presentation software and computer simulations to equations drawn on the chalkboard. Remember that the more simply you can render complex information, the more likely it is that audience members will grasp your points. Mostly importantly, the visual aid should contribute to conveying your message rather than distracting or confusing the audience member.

Arrangement:
Depending on the type of your research, you will want to organize it differently to meet your needs. These are a few of the arrangement methods for different types of research:

Original Research Presentation:
In the original research presentation (also known as the oral science presentation) you describe original research you have done, either alone or as part of a team. The research presentation usually follows the model used in scientific investigation and includes the following elements:

Introduction describing the research question or issue and the scope and objective of the study.
Description of methods used to investigate the research question, including where it took place and the conditions under which it was carried out.
Results of the study describing the key results and highlighting the answers to the questions/hypotheses investigated.
Conclusion in which the speaker interprets the data or results and discusses their significance.

You can also use this checklist to evaluate your original research presentation:

Have you stated the research question?
Have you clearly stated the hypothesis to the research questions?
Have you adequately described the study's research design?
Have you described the methods used to obtain the results?
Have you explained and evaluated the results of the study?
Have you addressed the significance of the study?

Methods/Procedure Presentation:
Some instructors may require you to describe how an experimental or mathematical process works and under what conditions it can be used. This type of methods/procedure presentation generally does the following:

Identifies the conditions under which the process should be used
Offers a detailed description of the process
Discusses the benefits and shortcomings of the process

Research Overview Presentation:
The research overview presentation provides background for a research question that will form the basis of an impending experiment or investigation. The format for the research overview may be an individual presentation or a panel discussion, with several individual exploring specific lines of research that contribute to a general hypothesis or question. Instructors often ask students to organize research overviews with the following sections:

Overview of research that is relevant to the question at hand
Discussion of key studies that are central to the question
Analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of research in light of the current hypothesis or question

Field Study Presentation:
You may sometimes be called on to describe a field study project. The extended research or field study presentation can be delivered individually, in team, or in a poster-session format. Whatever the format, included in the extended research study are the following details:

Overview of field research
Methods used in the research
Analysis of the results of the research
Timeline indicating how the research results will be used in the future

Checklist—Tips for Preparing Successful Scientific Presentations:

Create an informative title.
Place your presentation in the context of a major scientific principle.
Focus on a single issue, and adjust it to the interests of your audience.
Identify the underlying question you will address, divide it into subquestions, and answer each question.
Follow a logical line of thought.
Explain scientific concepts unambiguously, with a minimum of jargon.
End with a clearly formulated conclusion related to your chosen scientific principle.

Number 020 in the Speaking Center Handout Series