

In food testing this might be expressed by higher liking scores of products which are believed to be healthier compared to the others in the test ( Forde et al., 2016). Its counterpart is when participants give merely neutral answers, scoring mainly in the middle of the scale ( Weijters et al., 2021).ĭesirability bias occurs when participants want to provide socially appropriate answers. The demand characteristic bias can be eliminated by creating an interactive questionnaire, so participants forget the main aim of the research ( Brew et al., 2021).Įxtreme responding bias occurs when participants use mainly the two endpoints of the scale and forget about the middle option. This could take place if a participant knows the company whose products are tested. When participants try to figure out the purpose of the study, they might create pre-set expectations, which might affect their answers. How much do you like the presented product ) ( Lawless and Heymann, 2010). This bias is usually expressed in tests incorporating liking or agreement questions and can be triggered by not proper formulation of questions (I like the taste of the newly developed product vs. they give higher (or better) ratings to the samples even if they are not satisfied with it. Acquiescence bias occurs when the participants show too much engagement to the product they test, e.g. If the participants do not focus entirely on the survey, their answers can be heavily biased. This information processing, however, can influence the final answer of the participant.

the perceived taste/smell) and to convert their sensations into a number or a category on the presented scale. This means that after tasting or smelling the sample, panellists must take some time to process the information (e.g. In sensory evaluation, we expect the panellists to react to more complex stimuli and we instruct them to give a conscious answer. These stimuli are processed automatically, and humans have a limited ability to change their reaction.

This process is straightforward and direct when the stimulus is basic, such as heat or pain. When dealing with sensory evaluation, we expect the respondents to provide an answer on a scale to a given stimulus. However, these advancements were not able to solve a critical issue of questionnaires. By using these options, the researcher gets the results of the sensory test immediately, which might be used in the training of panellists or in reporting as well ( Stone and Sidel, 2004). One of the major advantages is the built-in data analyses methods.
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Additionally, these software support sample coding, randomized sample presentation, which helps the researchers to follow the good sensory practices. Such features include the option of mandatory questions therefore, participants cannot finish their evaluation without answering all the questions on the sensory ballot. These solutions saved a significant amount of time and resources by introducing special features which cannot be used when working with paper and pencil. After many years of using paper-based questionnaires, the wide and fast spreading of computers and mobile devices enabled companies to develop sensory software which support the application of scales and methods used in traditional sensory testing of foods.
