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 9, 2017

Practice Presentations: A Reflection

04/09/2017

After doing two practice presentations (one last Monday and one on Saturday), I am feeling pretty confident about my presentation and excited to share my findings with the BASIS community.

Last Monday, I went into my practice presentation uneasy about the slides actually explaining my research methods and results. My feelings were justified, as many of the guest teachers watching the practice presentation couldn't follow exactly what I did and how I quantified the findings from the blind consumption test and the exit survey. After discussing with Ms. Haag and the teachers, I created more slides, some with pretty heavy animations (one slide took about 25 minutes to make!), in order to better explain the process of my method, the design of my exit survey, and the conclusions I reached from all the data I collected.

On Saturday, Mr. Molk, who was completely lost watching my first presentation, said that he totally understood my methods and conclusions the second time. The other guest teacher, Dr. Helmers, although he didn't see my presentation the first time, said that he followed the whole thing and was really impressed. Ms. Haag also thought my slides had improved and commented that my verbal presentation was pretty strong (although I know that I can still improve that and there are some awkward spots, especially in the parts of the methods and results where I have added additional explanation). So, overall, I am feeling pretty good about the whole presentation.

What I have left to do is fix some slides that still have general pictures, lack of animation, or poor visual appeal (on Saturday, we all found that some slides would be more effective if they included bullet points explaining key points in conjunction with pictures). Also, I need to work on a couple transitions/explanations in my verbal script to ensure that the audience follows my thought process when I analyze my results and reach conclusions. As far as practicing, I will continue to go through it a few times a day, at least once with an audience and with either reviewing or practicing answering oral defense questions. I have my final practice presentation tomorrow, so I am sure I will find more places where I can improve my slides/explanation, and I will implement them into the rest of my practice before finishing AP Research this Friday at 8am! :D

We are almost there! Good luck to everyone with finishing and practicing their presentations!

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5 comments:

  1. UnknownApril 10, 2017 at 9:44 AM

    Hi Audrey!! It sounds like you have done a lot of heavy editing this week! But now you're probably done! Just think this is the finished product for Friday! I hope your practice today goes well. It sounds like you are going in a really good direction so keep up the great work. Definitely make sure those awkward spots are practiced so you can rock the final presentation on Friday!

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  2. UnknownApril 10, 2017 at 9:44 AM

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  3. YashApril 10, 2017 at 12:05 PM

    Hey Audrey!

    I'm glad that you were able to resolve the issues from the first practice presentation and deliver a stellar one afterward. Connecting methods to results to conclusions is of paramount importance in getting others to understand your research and nailing the rubric points. To do this, I used lots of animations and smart art graphics. It sounds like you're doing the same.

    I remember you used scatterplots to show your results, so identifying the axes when you speak and showing what each region means could be a good clarifying statement.

    Yeah... I found the minimalist approach with pictures worked well for Seminar, but Research presentations often need a bit more text.

    Once you make those edits, it looks like you're done, so just rehearse and nail it bright and early on Friday :)

    Awesome work throughout the year!
    Yash

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  4. UnknownApril 11, 2017 at 4:04 AM

    Hey Audrey! Looks like you have been very hard at work over the last week! I know whatever you do, you do extremely well, so I know that the edits you have made and the things you have fixed are worthwhile changes that will help you deliver a very strong final presentation! I think that connecting methods to results and then connecting results to conclusions is very important and the edits you have made have made sure you have done those :)!

    I can't wait to see you rock your presentation!

    Thanks,

    Ved

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  5. mrslyndsayhaagApril 12, 2017 at 11:32 AM

    Audrey -- I'm very proud of all that you've accomplished. I cannot wait to see the final presentation, as I know that it'll surely function as an exemplar of what all other AP Research presentations should look like. I wish you all of the luck, even though you surely won't need it!

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