Community Engaged Research Posters & Infographics: Home

Consult the resources below these tips for more information.

Know Your Audience

• Who?  community leaders, community advocacy members, parents, other stakeholders
• What?  are their interests and concerns? do they want to know? is most relevant to them?
  • Adapt to fit their needs
• Respect cultural norms and customs 

Use Plain Language

• Avoid acronyms and academic "buzz words"
• Avoid scientific or academic specific language
• Consider reading (grade) level 

Clear Communication

• Present the most important points first
• Break complex information into chunks
• Use active voice

Tips for using images and graphics:

• Make graphics relevant but appropriate to audience!
• It is ok to be fun & creative when using graphics to communicate your message
• Infographics or visualizations may best communicate results/findings

Resources:

Resources

Clear communication resources:

• AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Communication Fundamentals
• AAAS Engage with the public and policy makers
• NIH Clear Communication 
• NIH National Cancer Institute's Making Data Talk: A Workbook

Plain Language resources:

• Plainlanguage.gov
  • Checklist for Plain Language
• CDC Plain Language Materials & Resources
• NIH Catalyst: The Training Page - Plain Language Posters

Health Literacy resources:

• North Carolina Health Literacy

• Speak clearly and make eye contact
• Communicate why your issue/topic is important within the first few sentences
• Do not just read your poster
• Do not overwhelm your audience with information
• As with your poster, avoid use of acronyms or scientific jargon when you speak
• Be culturally appropriate, use relevant examples. 

Resources

• AAAS Engage with the public and policy makers

Infographics are a powerful way to tell a story using data; however, they take some skill to produce. There are a number of popular tools you can use to produce them, including online tools such as Canva or Piktochart or PowerPoint. Here are some resources to get you started.

• AOTA (American Occupational Therapy Association) website search
• UNC- Telling Your SSIP Story in an Infographic
• ASHA (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association) website search
• WHO (World Health Organization) infographics:
• CDC (Centers for Disease Control) infographics
• APHA (American Public Health Association) Infographics:
• Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) Infographics

• Consumer Health at HSL
• Health Literacy & Patient Education
• Lecture on Infographics
• Data visualization guide
• Presentations
• Infographics

Contact Us!

Exploring data and communicating findings through data visualization: Lorin Bruckner, Data Visualization Services Librarian

Using plain language and appropriate literacy/health literacy levels:Terri Ottosen, Community Engagement and Health Literacy Librarian

The Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool  (PEMAT) and User’s Guide

This tool can also be used with posters or infographics.

• Checklist with online score sheet and instructions
• Separate tools for print and audiovisual materials
• Designed as a guide using a systematic method to determine whether patients will be able to understand and act on information.

Check Readability & Reading Levels in Word

MS Word allows you to check the reading level of a document, including readability scores, using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level test and Flesch Reading Ease test.  Copy and paste sections of posters or infographics into Word, then

PC/Windows:

•File > Options > Proofing

•Under "When correcting spelling and grammar in Word"

•Select "Check grammar with spelling" 

•Select "Show readability statistics"

•Open a document and check the spelling using F7 or going to Review > Spelling & Grammar

After Word checks spelling and grammar, it displays information about the document’s reading level

•Important: You must correct or ignore all errors found in the document for readability statistics to display.

MAC/iOS and further information