Cross sectional survey, 3,600 students, 22 schools
Cross sectional study poster example
A cross sectional study poster reports how common something is at one moment, so its headline is a prevalence, not a change. This A0 landscape example surveys 3,600 students in 22 Queensland secondary schools in one week: 38% sleep under 8 hours on a school night, and short sleep is 1.9 times as common above 4 hours of recreational screen time.
The whole board
The poster at full size, exactly as it prints. Every number, citation and caption on it was written for this example, so the layout is being judged on real content.
Block by block
What each block on the board is for, in the order a reader walks it.
- Title band and three authors
- The title asks how many students sleep under 8 hours and whether screens track it. Three authors from the fictional Tallowmere University in Queensland.
- Abstract and methods
- The abstract gives both prevalences and says the survey cannot show which came first. Five method entries cover design, sample, measures, the paper survey and the analysis.
- Stat ribbon
- Four numbers across the board: 3,600 students, 22 schools, 47% over 4 hours of screens and 38% under 8 hours of sleep, each with its count underneath.
- Figure 1
- Grouped bars split each screen time group into three sleep bands: under 8, 8 to 9 and over 9 hours. Each group adds to 100%.
- Short sleep by year level
- The table the row asked for, written as a run of six year levels with counts and percentages, then the four screen bands. This layout has no table block.
- Discussion, key finding, takeaways and references
- The discussion separates the age effect from the screen gradient. The callout gives the 1.9 ratio with its interval, then four takeaways and three references.
What makes this board work
Prevalence leads, not response
The ribbon opens with 47% and 38%, the two prevalences a reader came for. The 92% return rate is one line in the methods, which keeps this board about how common short sleep is.
The ratio comes from shown counts
Above 4 hours, 858 of 1,692 students slept under 8 hours, 50.7%; at or below, 510 of 1,908, 26.7%. 50.7 over 26.7 is 1.9, and both pairs of counts are printed in the year level block.
It says what it cannot show
Screens and sleep were measured at the same moment, and the abstract says so in its last sentence. A cross sectional board that claims cause loses its reader at the first question.
Questions people ask
What should lead a cross sectional poster?
The prevalence of the main outcome with its denominator, because that is what the design measures best. Here the ribbon gives 38% under 8 hours of sleep and 47% over 4 hours of screens, each with its count of 3,600. Associations come second, and the board should say they are measured at one moment.
How is a prevalence ratio different from an odds ratio here?
A prevalence ratio divides two percentages: 50.7% short sleep above 4 hours of screens over 26.7% at or below, which is 1.9. An odds ratio from the same counts would be about 2.8, because short sleep is common. For a common outcome the prevalence ratio is easier to read and harder to overstate.
Where does a table go on a stat ribbon layout?
Into a section block, because this design has four stat blocks, a figure and sections but no table block. The year level table here became a short run of six entries, each with a count and a percentage. Six rows read well that way; more than about eight is better split between the figure and the text.
Why does the figure use two groups instead of four screen bands?
The four bands appear in the year level block with their counts. The figure splits students at 4 hours, the cut the headline ratio uses, and shows all three sleep bands in each group, so a reader sees the whole sleep distribution, not just the short sleep share.
Does an Australian school survey poster need the state named?
Name it once, in an affiliation or the sample line, as this board does with Queensland. School year levels, term timing and survey approval rules differ between states, and a reader comparing your prevalence with another study needs to know which system the 22 schools sit in.
Can a cross sectional poster compare year levels?
Yes, as long as it says the comparison is between different students at one moment, not the same students growing older. Short sleep runs from 24% in Year 7 to 56% in Year 12 here, and the discussion notes that age and screen time rise together, so part of the screen gradient may be age.
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