6 Conference Presentations, Posters and Proceedings
There are many different genres scholars use to share their findings. You are probably already familiar with journal articles and single-subject books (also known as monographs).
Conference presentations and other forms of oral lecture are another common way to share research results. The norms for what conference presentations look like varies a bit from field to field. In some fields, presentations are based on slides or other outline but then are given fairly extemporaneously. In musicology, it’s common to read aloud from a script during a presentation, with or without slides or other visual aids. Conference presentations usually last about 20-30 minutes, and are followed by a period of ~10 minutes in which the audience can ask the presenter questions or provide feedback. 20 minutes allows for reading about 8-10 pages of double-spaced text, so the content of a conference presentation is usually quite a bit less than what is included in a journal article. Because the format allows for conversation and feedback, it’s typical to present at conferences at an earlier stage in the research process than publishing a journal article or book chapter. This allows the author to present some of their ideas or findings, and get immediate feedback to improve or clarify their work while they build towards a more substantial published form. Presentations are often presented in sessions of two or three presentations on related topics, which also allows for dialogue among presenters.
Activity
Take a look at the 2021 program for the American Musicological Society Conference, one of the most selective conferences for musicology. As you look through, think about some of the following questions:
- What kinds of themes are used to group presentations?
- Do you see any sessions that seem to have a format other than individual presentations?
- How does this conference seem to compare to other conferences you may have attended?
- Are you surprised by any of the research topics discussed?
- Look at a few of the abstracts. Is there a pattern to how these are written?
One affect of the COVID pandemic has been increasing access to conferences that are held online or in hybrid format, and some presentations then remain available online after the conference. Watch the video below of a conference presentation by the musicologist Maria Ryan.
Activity
As you watch, consider:
- What is her main thesis? How does the scope of this argument compare to what you’ve seen in articles?
- Take a look at her article on a related topic. Based on a quick look/skim, how does her thesis here compare to the presentation?
- How is your engagement with her argument and her evidence different when watching a presentation versus reading a scholarly article?
- What questions would you ask her if you were watching this presentation live?
Sometimes, the presentation text from a conference is published more or less as-is, and these volumes are called “conference proceedings;” it’s a more common format in science and social science fields than in musicology. In musicology, conference presentations are often adapted into a longer, more thorough article for a journal or a collection of essays in book format.
Conferences also offer venues for slightly different genres of presentation, such as poster presentations, which are generally even shorter and simpler than a regular presentation but involve offering a visual representation of the work for asynchronous interaction (think of your middle school science fair). Posters are a great way to share very early or concrete results, or things that have a major visual component. For some examples, take a look at some of these posters by doctoral students in music education. Presenters stand by their posters and are prepared to give a short explanation of their project as attendees approach them, and to answer any questions that attendees have about the project. Conferences may also include plenary lectures or keynotes, which are longer and more polished than most presentations, as well as workshops and roundtables that are interactive or feature more voices.
