The first and most important thing to do is to speak with your undergraduate research advisor to determine whether or not your advisor believes you are ready and able to present your research at a conference and whether or not your advisor can provide the needed financial support (which may be considerable if you wish to present at a national or international conference) in order to underwrite your trip. Before you speak with your advisor, it would be a wise idea to do some background work: Make sure that you are working on a project the results of which can be publicly communicated. If you are working on a project that is potentially patentable or which is supported by industrial funding, you may not be able to present some or all of your work publicly;
Summarize your research accomplishments in an abstract (approximately 250 words or less) and a PowerPoint presentation that shows the quality and quantity of the results you have at this point; and Determine how much it will cost to attend the research conference including travel (airfare, housing), registration, and subsistence and what must be submitted (abstract, extended abstract, and/or proposal) in order to make a presentation.
Usually need to submit either an
- abstract; and/or
- extended abstract; or a
- proposal.
In general speakers are supposed to present the work that they have outlined in their proposal or meeting abstract. Since abstracts and meeting proposals are often approved six months in advance of a conference, meeting organizers understand that presenters will have likely done additional work that they would like to present. This is acceptable at most conferences. However, if you plan to present work that differs significantly from that described in the approved meeting abstract it is important to discuss this in advance with the session and/or meeting organizers.