Welcome!
The UK ISLP poster competitions are making a comeback!
An unexpected gap in the competition arose during the Covid pandemic but it’s time to get started again. (To learn about the last UK-level competition, and the winners, just hop along a tap to access the 2018 – 2019 competition page.)
The ISLP website now has a range of information for you to refer to for the 2024 – 2025 competitions:
Software usage
On reviewing the above webpage, I strongly recommend considering use of the recommended JMP software to support students in presenting their statistical findings with good-quality graphics. Using this software is not complicated. Have a look at the video provided to learn more!
Many of you may have a preference for use of Excel for statistics. There is a lot of literature out there explaining limitations in the use of Excel but we have to be realistic in terms of what can be achieved with the resources you have. There is actually adequate online educational material that could be used to support training in use of Excel for statistics while allowing pupils to input data (e.g., from the examples provided) to explore different methods. It should be emphasized that the need here is to take pupils beyond the level of what they are expected to learn in the curriculum. Here is one example of a relevant website: http://www.statisticshowto.com/probability-and-statistics/excel-statistics/ . You will need to find some space in the curriculum or extra-curricular time to get students involved in engaging with such resources so that when they arrive at the focus day, they are ready to roll! They should also have been working on their projects well in advance of this day so they may well have had opportunities to explore statistical procedures with their project data before the event.
Exemplar posters and ISLP poster guidelines
Please also use the above website to obtain exemplar posters from previous competitions and the judging criteria and for poster guidelines. You may also find it helpful to consult the following resources for advice on good practice in poster design:
Tips for presenting your work
ISLP poster session presentation 2015
How to make an academic poster using MS PowerPoint
Please excuse the adds! The video is well worth watching to the end.
- Teams of 2–5 students nominated by individual schools
- 4 categories:
- elementary: ages 9 to 11 (NEW!)
- lower secondary: ages 12 to 15
- upper secondary: ages 16 to 18
- undergraduate students in university/college (no age limit but must be in year prior to dissertation year of current course)
- The theme of the poster is open.
- Free entry
- Registration for the UK competition is currently open. To register, please email me at Margaret.MacDougall@ed.ac.uk .
- Deadline for teachers or programme contacts letting me know of their final competitors for the UK level competition is 1 February 2025. This deadline is critical as candidates must first be registered before submissions can be considered.
- Deadline for submission of posters for UK level competition: 12 noon on Saturday 20 April 2025
- Winning UK posters can then go forward to international level competition on Saturday 18 May 2025.
Noting that there is no fixed ISLP theme this year, it is entirely up to teachers to work with fellow-staff and pupils to choose project topics and find appropriate data. From this perspective, there are no rules from me on whether the data should be collected by the students, sourced online or obtained on request by reaching out to individuals in industry, academia or some other reputable area of work. However, please seek to be sensitive to ethical issues in project design. Getting pupils to think about this area would be a useful training exercise.
I would recommend the use of a focus day (suggested week for focus day: w/c 10 February 2025) to allow pupils to work exclusively on their posters The pupils could then have the opportunity to finish off the posters after the focus day in preparation for the submission deadline at UK level (see provisional dates below). However, to meet the required standards for the competition, one cannot realistically hope to combine training with poster preparation in a day.
I hope that the above content provides some direction and focus and helps you to work with pupils and staff to encourage as many persons as you can to participate. Please feel free to send me any questions if the answers are not already covered in the above email or at the links I have directed you to.
Competition for undergraduate university students
All deadlines at the top of this page apply. It is expected that students at this level are likely to have access to a wider range of statistical software than secondary school pupils. Expressions of interest should be made in the first instance to me through University programme contacts. There is no restriction on year group or poster theme,
Contact details
Dr Margaret MacDougall
Medical Statistician (Senior Lecturer) and Researcher in Education
Usher Institute, Edinburgh Medical School
Email: Margaret.MacDougall@ed.ac.uk
Judges
Dr Margaret MacDougall, University of Edinburgh; further judges tbc
