THE ACCEPTABILITY OF TABTABA (Nostoc Verrucosum) AS AN ADDITIVE IN MAKING COOKIES
CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents a discussion of the research design that comprises the sampling design, population sample, ingredients, materials, procedure, data gathering instruments and statistical treatment of data.

Research Design The single-group research design will be used in this study to determine the acceptability of Nostoc as an additive in making cookies. There will be three (3) treatments. The independent variable in the study will be the amount of Nosotc incorporated in the plain cookie. The dependent variables are the taste, appearance and aroma of the Nostoc cookie.

Ingredients
100 grams butter 125 grams of plain flour
50 grams caster sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt
60 grams brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 large egg At least 200 grams of dried Nostoc
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence/extract

Material and Tools
Baking tray Whisk
Bowls Table spoon (preferably)

Procedure
1. Turn your oven on to preheat at 180 degrees Celsius (about 350 degrees Fahrenheit, gas mark 4). Remember to take your grill pan out first. Now get some baking trays ready (if they're not non-stick then you better line them or grease them).
2. In a big bowl add the butter and both sugars, and then beat them until they are light and fluffy. A whisk would be needed. You'll know you're pretty much there when the color starts to lighten, and the sugar starts to look less granular.
3. Add egg and vanilla essence and mix them all together well.
4. In a separate bowl measure out the flour, salt, and bicarbonate of soda.
5. Now add the dry ingredients to the sugary egg-butter mix and use a whisk to mix them all together well.
6. Stir in the dried nostoc.
7. Drop the mix in tablespoon-sized scoops onto the baking trays. Remember to leave plenty of space between scoops.
8. Pop them in the oven and bake until they go golden brown, and the centers are still slightly soft to the touch. It's going to take about 12 to 15 minutes.
9. Take them out, leave them to sit for 5 minutes then pop them on a cooling rack.

Sampling Design

Population Sampling
There will be 10-15 individuals who will be selected as respondents to evaluate the product through availability sampling.10 to 15 students of Special Science Class were randomly selected to taste the acceptability of the resulting product.

Data Gathering Instrument The data gathering instrument used will be the evaluation checklist. Each respondent will be given a checklist where he/she will be evaluating the Nostoc cookie, in terms of appearance, aroma and taste. The checklist will be used as basis in scoring the evaluation.
The Nostoc cookie will be rated using the Nine (9) - Point Hedonic Scale which is shown below:

RATING

CATEGORY

EQUIVALENT
9
Like
Enjoy to a very high point
8
Like very much
Emphatic way of accepting or saying yes to something

7
Like moderately
Less extreme
6
Like slightly
Less interested
5
Neither like nor dislike
Not interested on both alternatives
4
Dislike slightly
Less disapproving
3
Dislike moderately
Disagreeable
2
Dislike Very Much
Emphatic way of not accepting or saying no to something

1
Dislike
Not accepted to a very high point

Statistical Treatment In the evaluation, to determine the level of acceptability of the Nostoc cookie in terms of texture, palatability, and appearance, weighted mean will be used. The t-test will be used to determine the rate of acceptance of the Nostoc cookies.