A simple alternative to Generalized Procrustes Analysis: Application to sensory profiling data

A statistical method for analyzing sensory profiling data obtained by means of fixed vocabulary or free choice profiling is discussed The most interes ting feature of this method is that it involves only simple statistical tre atment and can therefore be performed using standard software packages. The outcomes of this method are compared to those of Generalized Procrustes An alysis on the basis of two data sets obtained, respectively, by means of fi xed vocabulary and free choice profiling. A significance test is also discu ssed in order to assess whether the overall configuration of the products i s meaningful. This significance test is based upon a simulation study invol ving the permutation procedure.