FOOD9102 Chap.10 Ballot Papers, Serving Plans and the Lab Report
Ballot Papers, Serving Plans and the Lab Report
This chapter prepares you for the laboratory weeks. It walks through the Week 4 discrimination laboratory, the three experiments and their ballots, how to read the test type off a ballot and how the class data are collected.
It then sets out the eight questions of the group report, the recommended page budget and the published 20-mark marking criteria, explains what the two individual reports add, and works a results paragraph from an invented class data set.
Use this chapter as a checklist in the week before each laboratory and again before each submission.
The criteria and the brief questions are quoted closely so that you can map every paragraph you write to the marks it is meant to earn.
What this chapter covers
- 01
The patties, biscuits and cupcakes experiments
- 02
Reading the test type from the ballot wording
- 03
Running the class: trays, rounds and tally sheets
- 04
The eight questions of the group report
- 05
The five-page budget by section
- 06
The 20-mark marking criteria
- 07
Reports 2a and 2b after the Week 7 and Week 10 laboratories
Worked example · free
Analyse the cupcake triangle test
- 1The ballot asks for the sample different from the other two, so this is a triangle test with P = 1/3; chance expects 6 of 18.
- 1The table for n = 18 and P = 1/3 needs 10 at alpha 0.05 and 12 at alpha 0.01.
- 1The tail P(X ≥ 10) is 0.0433, below 0.05 but above 0.01.
- 1Conclude: at alpha 0.05 panellists could tell the full cream cupcakes from the skim milk cupcakes.
Key terms
- Ballot paper
- A ballot paper is the panellist's instruction and answer sheet, carrying the sample codes and the task.
- Tally sheet
- A tally sheet records how many panellists answered a discrimination test correctly.
- Testing protocol
- A testing protocol is the written plan for running a sensory test, from sample preparation to serving.
- Team evaluation
- The team evaluation is each member's rating of group participation, completed after the group report is submitted.
- Serving tray
- A serving tray holds one panellist's coded samples, rinsing water, ballot paper and pen in a standard layout.
Ballot Papers, Serving Plans and the Lab Report FAQ
How long can the group laboratory report be?
A maximum of five pages, not counting the reference list and appendices, which must still be included. The brief suggests about one page for the introduction, three and a half for results, analysis and discussion, and half a page for the conclusion.
Do I analyse every group's data in the report?
No. The brief asks you to analyse the compiled class data for your own prescribed test only. Include whatever tables, graphs or statistical outputs make your analysis clear, and relate the conclusion to your test objective.
What happens if I miss a laboratory class?
Attendance at each laboratory class is compulsory and each class carries an assessment. If you cannot attend, inform the course convenor as soon as possible and apply for Special Consideration, after which an appropriate adjustment is negotiated.
What is in the individual laboratory and reflection reports?
Report 1 follows the Week 7 laboratory on hedonic testing: you may submit a draft protocol and ballots a week early for feedback, then submit the report with an improved protocol and ballots. Report 2 follows the Week 10 laboratory on descriptive and product analysis and uses a provided template.
Assessment move
Before each laboratory, reread the relevant week’s material and the brief, and draft the research question you expect your test to answer. During the class, note every bias you notice while preparing and tasting, because the discussion section needs them. After it, write the results paragraph first, then the introduction and discussion, and finish with a conclusion that answers the test objective.
Keep a copy of every ballot you design, since report 1 asks for improved versions. Read the marking criteria once more before you submit and check that each criterion has a paragraph that clearly earns it.
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