LibGuides: Criminal Justice: CRJ 287 Resources

Poster Content Tips

General Do's and Don't's:

DO	DON'T
Keep background colors light and simple	Have dark or patterned backgrounds
Use (one or two) consistent fonts	Change font types, sizes or colors, from section to section
Use images/graphs to help make your poster more visually appealing	Cover your poster in overwhelming text
Use the Insert function to add large or high resolution images	Cut and paste photos from websites that have poor resolution
Keep image proportions when resizing	Stretch images and distort the image
Include references, in smaller print, for images somewhere on the poster	Use images from the web without giving credit
Double-check EVERYTHING, from spelling to font type to poster arrangement	Wait until the last minute to submit your poster for printing

Use PowerPoint or Publisher to design your poster. Step-by-step directions are listed in the Software: “How to” tab on the guide.

Get images from resources listed on the Images tab, or use Google Images:

Click on the Criminal Justice Abstracts database
Click on Choose Databases and add more databases based on your topic
Type your keywords in the search boxes (use AND, OR, and quotation marks for phrases)
Refine results on the left: select Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed, narrow by date, subject, language, etc.
Analyze the articles: Look at the subject headings & read the abstract. Is it useful?
Add to Folder, Email Citation, and Save PDF. If you don’t see PDF, click on Check Availability. If you see the Sorry, no holdings message, you can request the article through interlibrary loan (you’ll receive it in 2-3 business days).