1st Edition

Analyzing Sensory Data with R

By Sebastien Le, Thierry Worch Copyright 2015
    374 Pages 112 B/W Illustrations
    by Chapman & Hall

    374 Pages 112 B/W Illustrations
    by Chapman & Hall

    Choose the Proper Statistical Method for Your Sensory Data Issue

    Analyzing Sensory Data with R gives you the foundation to analyze and interpret sensory data. The book helps you find the most appropriate statistical method to tackle your sensory data issue.

    Covering quantitative, qualitative, and affective approaches, the book presents the big picture of sensory evaluation. Through an integrated approach that connects the different dimensions of sensory evaluation, you’ll understand:

    • The reasons why sensory data are collected
    • The ways in which the data are collected and analyzed
    • The intrinsic meaning of the data
    • The interpretation of the data analysis results

    Each chapter corresponds to one main sensory topic. The chapters start with presenting the nature of the sensory evaluation and its objectives, the sensory particularities related to the sensory evaluation, details about the data set obtained, and the statistical analyses required. Using real examples, the authors then illustrate step by step how the analyses are performed in R. The chapters conclude with variants and extensions of the methods that are related to the sensory task itself, the statistical methodology, or both.

    Quantitative Descriptive Approaches
    When panelists rate products according to one single list of attributes
    Data, sensory issues, notations
    In practice
    For experienced users: Measuring the impact of the experimental design on the perception of the products?

    When products are rated according to one single list of attributes
    Data, sensory issues, notations
    In practice
    For experienced users: Adding supplementary information to the product space

    When products are rated according to several lists of attributes
    Data, sensory issues, notations
    In practice
    For experienced users: Comparing different panels with Hierarchical Multiple Factor Analysis (HMFA)

    Qualitative Descriptive Approaches
    When products are depicted by comments
    Data, sensory issues, notations
    In practice
    For experienced users: Comparing free comments from different panels, the Rorschach test revisited

    When two different products are put in various experimental contexts
    Data, sensory issues, notations
    In practice
    For experienced users: the Thurstonian approach

    When products are grouped into homogeneous clusters
    Data, sensory issues, notations
    In practice
    For experienced users: the Hierarchical Sorting Task

    When products are positioned onto a projective map
    Data, sensory issues, notations
    In practice
    For experienced users: The Sorted Napping®

    Affective Descriptive Approaches
    When products are solely assessed by liking
    Data, sensory issues, notations
    In practice
    For experienced users: Dealing with multiple hedonic variables and supplementary consumer data

    When products are described by both liking and external information "independently"
    Data, sensory issues, notations
    In practice
    For experienced users: Finding the best correspondence between the Sensory and Hedonic matrices, using PrefMFA

    When products are described by a mix of liking and external information
    Data, sensory issues, notations
    In practice
    For experienced users: Assessing the consistency of ideal data in IPM

    Appendix A: The R survival guide
    Appendix B: Glossary

    Index

    Exercises and Recommended Readings appear at the end of each chapter.

    Biography

    Sebastien Le, Thierry Worch

    "…a comprehensive and practical book written for sensory scientists. The book introduces techniques for the analysis of sensory data with a strong emphasis on multivariate analysis. Throughout the book, real data from a variety of sensory experiments are used to illustrate how to analyze sensory data appropriately using R. … The examples used in the book emphasize a good understanding of the objective of the experiment, the nature of the data collected and its statistical notation, how to implement the appropriate method of analysis using R, and how to read the output and carefully interpret the results. … Sensometrics is a dynamic and fast-moving field, yet books on how to analyze complicated sensory data are rare. This practical book is a valuable resource for scientists learning how to analyze sensory data appropriately. It can be used as a course textbook to teach new sensory scientists the full suite of existing statistical techniques, or as a reference handbook for the experienced sensory scientist seeking information on how to analyze a specific type of sensory data. … well-organized, easy to read, and provides practical instruction in statistical techniques for analyzing sensory data using R."
    —Gui-Shuang Ying, University of Pennsylvania, in Journal of the American Statistical Association, January 2017

    "Lê and Worch present students, academics, researchers, and statisticians with a quantitative, qualitative, and effective approach to sensory evaluation. The authors have organized the bulk of their text in three sections, devoted to quantitative descriptive approaches, qualitative descriptive approaches, and affective approaches, in turn. Individual chapters within these sections cover a variety of subjects, such as product rating according to a single list of attributes, product rating when depicted by comments, and product rating when solely assessed by liking."
    Ringgold, Inc. Book News, February 2015