Research Focus Questions

1. Which slice and bake chocolate chip cookie do most people like best?

2. How does cost determine which cookie most people would buy?

There are two national brands of slice and bake chocolate chip cookies: Pillsbury and Nestle. A national brand is one that can be found almost anywhere in the country. There are many private labels as well. Private labels are products made by companies for a local area. In other words, you won't be able to find them everywhere in the nation. Prices vary for the different brands.

This project allows you to compare these different brands to determine which one you prefer. After you determine which one you like best, you will compare the cost for the brands and decide which one you would buy if you were spending your own money.

Be sure to read through the experiment completely because there are several references to time. Time is of the essence for the preference testing. The test should be done at least one hour after lunch is finished.

With these focus questions guiding your work, proceed to the background information.