At the poster session, you will distill your research into a visual and conversational format. A poster highlights your research question, methods, and key findings through concise text, graphics, and visuals. Unlike a paper, a poster is designed to spark discussion: you’ll stand beside it, talk with viewers, and answer questions. Think of it as telling the story of your project in a way that invites curiosity and conversation.
A literature review is a written overview of what researchers have already discovered about a topic.
It does not present the authors' original experiments or data.
Instead, it pulls together existing studies, articles, and reports, showing the big picture: what’s known, what’s debated, and what still needs investigation.
Think of it as a map of the knowledge landscape—a guide to where the roads are smooth, where there are potholes, and where no road exists yet.
A research paper usually combines two things:
Original work (your own data, experiment, or analysis).
A review of other people’s work (to set up and justify your research).
A literature review is different because it focuses only on other people’s work—but in a structured way:
You summarize what others have said.
You synthesize by putting sources in conversation with each other (Where do they agree? Where do they conflict?).
You organize the field so a reader sees trends, gaps, and directions
Beyond the poster and the literature review, the most lasting deliverable of this project is the knowledge you build and carry forward. Through reading, questioning, and synthesizing, you’re not just reporting what others have discovered — you are claiming ownership of that knowledge and shaping it into understanding that belongs to you. For STEM majors, this absolutely matters: every new discovery is built on a foundation of prior knowledge. By fully engaging in this process, you prepare yourself not only to apply existing knowledge but to contribute new knowledge of your own in the future.