Research Presentation Guide

This guide explains how to create an effective PowerPoint presentation for your research project.

Time Limit

• Presentation: 10 minutes
• Q&A: 5 minutes
• Total: 15 minutes

Evaluation Criteria

Jurors evaluate your oral presentation and written summary based on these criteria:

1. Clarity of purpose - Is the research question clear?
2. Appropriateness of methodology - Are the methods suitable for the research question?
3. Interpretation of results - Are the findings interpreted correctly?
4. Value of the research - Does this research contribute something meaningful?
5. Ability to articulate the research - Can you explain your work clearly?
6. Organization of material - Is the presentation well-structured?
7. Ability to address questions - Can you respond thoughtfully to Q&A?

Presentation Structure

A typical research presentation follows this structure:

Slide-by-Slide Guide

1. Title Slide (1 slide)

Include:

• Research title
• Author names
• Affiliation (California State University, Bakersfield)
• Date
• Competition/Conference name (if applicable)

Example:

The Impact of Leader Workaholism on
Working Students' Emotional Exhaustion

Jesus Garcia & Eric Martinez
California State University, Bakersfield

CSUB Student Research Competition
March 6, 2026

2. Introduction (3-4 slides)

Slide: Research Problem / Why This Matters

• What is the issue?
• Why should the audience care?
• Use statistics or real-world examples

Slide: Key Concepts

• Define main variables
• Keep definitions simple and clear

Slide: Literature Review Summary

• What do we already know?
• What is missing? (Research gap)
• 2-3 key findings from prior research

Slide: Research Model & Hypotheses

• Show your conceptual model (diagram)
• List your hypotheses clearly

Example Model Diagram:

┌─────────────────┐      ┌─────────────┐      ┌──────────────┐
│ Leader          │ H1   │ After-hours │ H2   │ Emotional    │
│ Workaholism     │ ───► │ ICT Use     │ ───► │ Exhaustion   │
└─────────────────┘      └─────────────┘      └──────────────┘

3. Method (2-3 slides)

Slide: Participants

• Sample size (N = ?)
• Demographics (age, gender, ethnicity)
• How they were recruited

Slide: Measures

• List each variable and how it was measured
• Include reliability (Cronbach’s alpha)
• Keep it brief - no need for full item wording

Example:

Slide: Analysis (optional)

• Briefly mention your analysis approach
• “We used regression analysis to test our hypotheses”

4. Results (3-4 slides)

Slide: Descriptive Statistics

• Show Table 1 (correlation table)
• Highlight key correlations

Slide: Hypothesis 1 Results

• State the hypothesis
• Show the result (supported or not supported)
• Include key statistics (B, SE, p)

Example:

Hypothesis 1: Leader workaholism is positively
related to after-hours ICT use.

✓ Supported (B = 0.36, p = .004)

Slide: Hypothesis 2 Results

• Same format as H1

Slide: Results Summary (optional)

• Visual summary of all hypothesis tests
• Use checkmarks (✓) for supported, X for not supported

5. Discussion (2-3 slides)

Slide: Key Takeaways

• What do the results mean?
• 2-3 main conclusions

Slide: Practical Implications

• How can organizations/individuals use these findings?
• Real-world applications

Slide: Limitations & Future Research

• Be honest about limitations
• Suggest directions for future studies

6. Final Slide

Options:

• “Thank You” with contact information
• “Questions?” slide
• Summary of key points

Design Tips

Do’s

• Use large fonts (minimum 24pt for body text, 32pt+ for titles)
• Use bullet points, not paragraphs
• One main idea per slide
• Use visuals (charts, diagrams, images)
• Use consistent colors and fonts
• Leave white space

Don’ts

• Don’t put too much text on one slide
• Don’t read directly from slides
• Don’t use distracting animations
• Don’t use low-quality images
• Don’t use more than 3 colors

Font Recommendations

• Titles: 36-44pt, Bold
• Body text: 24-28pt
• Fonts: Arial, Calibri, or Helvetica (clean and readable)

Presenting Tips

Before the Presentation

• Practice multiple times
• Time yourself
• Practice with your co-presenter
• Prepare for common questions

During the Presentation

• Make eye contact with the audience
• Speak clearly and slowly
• Don’t read from slides - use them as prompts
• Both team members should present roughly equal portions

Handling Q&A

• Listen carefully to the question
• It’s okay to say “That’s a great question, we didn’t examine that in this study”
• Be honest if you don’t know the answer
• Bring a notebook and take notes during feedback - this shows you’re engaged and taking their comments seriously
• Leave an impression that you plan to continue this research beyond the competition

Presentation Checklist

Content

• Title slide with all required information
• Clear research problem stated
• Hypotheses clearly presented
• Model diagram included
• Method section covers participants and measures
• Results for each hypothesis shown
• Discussion includes implications and limitations

Design

• Consistent font and colors throughout
• Text is large enough to read
• Not too much text per slide
• Visuals/diagrams are clear

Delivery

• Practiced timing (10 minutes or less)
• Both presenters know their parts
• Prepared for potential questions (5 min Q&A)
• Bring a notebook for taking notes during feedback

Resources

• Quantitative Research Paper Guide - For paper content reference
• Google Slides - Free presentation tool
• Canva - Templates and design tools

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