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

A statistical method for analysing sensory profiling data obtained by means of fixed vocabulary or free choice profiling is discussed. The most interesting feature of this method is that it involves only simple statistical treatment and can therefore be performed using standard software packages. The outcomes of this method are compared to those of Generalized Procrustes Analysis on the basis of two data sets obtained respectively by means of fixed vocabulary and free choice profiling. A significance test is also discussed in order to assess whether the overall configuration of the products is meaningful. This significance test is based upon a simulation study involving the permutation procedure. Keywords : Sensory profiling, Principal Components Analysis, Generalized Procrustes Analysis, Isotropic scaling factors, Permutation test. 3 Introduction Generalized Procrustes Analysis (GPA) was introduced and popularized by Gower (1975). It is used for the analysis of sensory profiling da..