Free-choice profiling

Free-choice profiling is a method for determining the quality of a thing by having a large number of subjects experience (view, taste, read, etc.) it and then allowing them to describe the thing in their own words, as opposed to posing them a set of "yes-no-maybe" questions. All of the descriptions are then analyzed to determine a "consensus configuration" of qualities, usually through Generalized Procrustes analysis (GPA) or Multiple factor analysis (MFA). A comparison between GPA and MFA, based on sensory data, is a chapter of a recent book: Pagès Jérôme (2014). Multiple Factor Analysis by Example Using R. Chapman & Hall/CRC The R Series London 272 p

Free-choice profiling first emerged in 1984 but the original published model has been modified by researchers into variations that are more applicable to their particular use.{{Cite book|title=Guidelines for Sensory Analysis in Food Product Development and Quality Control|last1=Carpenter|first1=Roland P.|last2=Lyon|first2=David H.|last3=Hasdell|first3=Terry A.|date=2000|publisher=Aspen Publishers, Inc.|isbn=0834216426|location=Gaithesburg, MD|pages=48}} For example, a technique employed by Jean Marc Sieffermann combined it with flash profiling, specifically using the free-profiling strategy of individual panelist vocabulary generation.{{Cite book|title=Sensory Evaluation of Food: Principles and Practices|last1=Lawless|first1=Harry T.|last2=Heymann|first2=Hildegarde|date=2010|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=9781441964878|location=New York|pages=252}} The method allows panelists to freely develop their own descriptors and scales.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AgrzoqWts9MC&dq=free-choice+profiling&pg=PT133|title=Handbook of Meat, Poultry and Seafood Quality|last=Nollet|first=Leo M. L.|date=2012-05-29|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=9781118352458|language=en}} A study show that free-choice profiling can provide more accurate sample maps compared with other methodologies such as project mapping and free sorting in the area of sensory characterization.{{Cite book|title=Novel Techniques in Sensory Characterization and Consumer Profiling|last1=Varela|first1=Paula|last2=Ares|first2=Gastón|date=2014|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=9781466566309|location=Boca Raton, FL|pages=373}}

Dr Françoise Wemelsfelder is a well known scientist who has done extensive research in this field.