Abstract

The market for natural makeup has been substantially increasing, primarily because many consumers believe that natural makeup is healthier and higher quality than unnatural makeup. However, perceived health hazards of unnatural makeup have been debunked, and, while there is no evidence disproving the perceived quality superiority of natural makeup, the manipulability of chemical ingredients suggests that unnatural makeup would be superior. Therefore, the question arises as to whether consumers choose natural makeup not because it is actually superior in quality, but because society has led them to believe it is healthier and more effective. A blind consumption test involving four popular brands of lip gloss - two natural and two unnatural - was conducted to determine whether consumers actually prefer their self-identified favorite makeup brands and how influence from the natural product movement affects how closely their self-identified preferences match their blind consumption preferences. Ultimately, it was found that consumers’ self-identified preferences rarely matched their preferences under blind consumption conditions, regardless of how influenced they were by the natural product movement. Thus, the results suggest that makeup consumers make decisions predominantly based on their emotional perceptions of certain brands, as opposed to actual sensed quality differences between makeup products; and, while the natural product movement may be one factor that affects consumers’ perceptions of makeup brands, it is by no means a sole or primary influence in forming consumer opinions.

Sunday, April 2, 2017

Crafting the Ideal Research Presentation

04/02/2017

After meeting with Ms. Haag last Monday and discussing how to improve my presentation, I am feeling a lot more confident about my understanding of what it takes to successfully convey all the information from a complex research project to an audience.

An AP Research presentation has a completely different purpose from a Seminar presentation. In Seminar, we were building an argument based off of general information from many other sources. Any explanation/justification of a method or how an author came to conclusions was brief -- we were mainly just stringing together the conclusions themselves in order to support a thesis statement. Research, on the other hand, is breaking down, explaining, and justifying the conclusion of ONE argument, our argument. It is a justification of our question (a brief explanation of the lit review, just enough information to show the significance and gap in the field), an in depth justification and explanation of our method, a detailed analysis of how the results from that method answer our question, and an insightful description of the future directions and implications that our research uncovers.

As such, the content of an ideal Research presentation should efficiently convey just enough information from the lit review to show the significance and gap in the field, and then it should transition into a detailed justification and explanation of the method and the results it uncovers, along with an analysis of the ultimate answer to the question and what it means for society.

While I think that a lot of us have a good understanding of what content is necessary to include in a script, a lot of us are still struggling with creating the optimal PowerPoint. In Seminar, we could get away with generic pictures since we were conveying a bunch of simple ideas. However, now, in Research, we are responsible for explaining complex and very specific research. Every picture, diagram, or bullet point needs to be tailored specifically to explaining OUR research. Otherwise, the presentation is completely useless in helping the audience understand what we are saying. For example, in my PowerPoint, for the slide accompanying my discussion of the participants, I had a general picture of a few girls testing makeup.This generic picture did not convey that I had 50 participants or that they were the clientele from a local makeup store, the main points that I am trying to make. Thus, I changed the slide to be a diagram of 50 female bathroom silhouettes (to represent the 50 female participants) and used a smart art shape to label them as a sample of the clientele from a local makeup store. Ultimately, if there is no clear answer to the question "How does this picture/bullet point/diagram/graph help the audience visually understand the point that I am verbally conveying?" then that element of the presentation needs to be altered so that it can achieve that purpose.

Improving my presentation has been a lot of swapping generic pictures for more specific diagrams, inserting actual charts/examples from my results section, and adding visual interest/drawing attention to key points through animations and introducing bullet points/visual elements one at a time (as opposed to having all the slide's content come up at once). I have also condensed my script by cutting even more technical/specific information out of the lit review and synthesizing the results and discussion sections more so that each  conclusion leads directly into how it answers the question and its implications.

Going forward practicing my presentation, I plan on delivering it to my parents at least once per day while playing the PowerPoint on the TV beside me, and I will practice reciting the script with my slides up on my computer at least another two times per day. Every time, I will update the script and presentation if I discover a way to more naturally or effectively convey the information, and I will take advice from my parents and ensure that they understand all the points I am making. Also, I will give the oral defense questions to my parents and have them ask me a few at the end of each practice presentation so that I get used to answering questions at the end of a long presentation.

Overall, I am excited to present all the hard work I have done throughout the year and end high school by finishing a large project that I can be proud of! Good luck to everyone else on practicing and finishing their presentations. The finish line is truly in sight!

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4 comments:

  1. mrslyndsayhaagApril 3, 2017 at 3:21 PM

    Audrey -- this is fantastic! I think that your analysis of the changes between Research and Seminar are insightful. I also like the reflection you've done on how to change your own presentation. I was pretty impressed by the presentation you delivered today. Remember, animations are your friend! Have information come on the slide when you say it to further emphasize the ideas that you're trying to convey.

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  2. UnknownApril 3, 2017 at 4:34 PM

    Hey Audrey! You really nailed your understanding of a Research presentation. I really like how you explained it as our own single argument as opposed to the synthesis that Seminar was. Also, it sounds like your editing process is going really well and that you probably have a really strong revised power point. I think your plan for practicing and editing for the next two weeks sound good. I would also try to get someone else to watch your presentation to get some different opinions. I'm glad you are feeling confident with your project you've been rocking it all year! Since we had that small class vibe, I feel really invested in your project and I'm so excited to see your progress, and ultimately your success in completing such a huge and interesting project!

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  3. YashApril 4, 2017 at 1:32 AM

    Hey Audrey!

    Nice blog post! As a fellow Seminar TA, I definitely agree with you about the differences you described -- specifically streamlining the lit review and methods to provide the information the audience needs to understand your results (lit review and discussion) as concisely as possible. For me, I tried to emphasize the problem my research aimed to solve -- in this way, I wasn't describing too much unnecessary details, and hopefully the presentation will be understandable and significant in the eyes of a lay person.

    Regarding the visual aids you create for your presentation, I agree that it is daunting to create your own figures, as it can take a while. I used a lot of smart art and animations to create my own "graphics" (I like this word Mrs. Haag used because it forces me to make sure the text boxes and stuff are integrated and aesthetically pleasing). Remember, graphics not images!

    Your practice plan looks nice and rigorous, and I like how you acknowledge you will be making your script and ppt better each time. However, I would probably practice with some other Research kids for the camaraderie and to get a variety of feedback. I forgot to include this in my plan, too. We could practice, if you want!

    Good work!
    Yash

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  4. UnknownApril 4, 2017 at 12:55 PM

    Hey Audrey!

    I really like the distinctions you made between an AP Seminar presentation and an AP Research presentation. I love how you made it clear that in AP Seminar and AP Research. AP Seminar is definitely a fusion of multiple arguments into a cohesive one. AP Research is us trying to create our own argument and justifying what we did with other people's sources! As Mrs. Haag said, you are already doing super well! In addition, I think your practice will make your presentation excellent! Your presentations have always been wonderful and I know you will do amazing come presentation day!

    Thanks,

    Ved

    106 words

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