Sensory Measurements for the Method of “M+N” with Larger M and N

Abstract

Abstract In a recent paper in the sensory literature, the method of “M+N” with larger M and N is proposed to be a new kind of sensory discrimination method. Fisher's exact test is used for the method for discrimination testing. The current article focuses on sensory measurements for the method. Five indices for sensory measurements and effect-sizes are derived, estimated, and proposed. The indices include log odds ratio, R-index, Thurstonian discriminal distance δ (or d′), Cohen's Δ (or d) and Gini-index. Variances of the estimators of the indices are also produced. With the proposed indices, the method of “M+N” with larger M and N can be connected to and compared with the conventional sensory discrimination methods based on common sensory measurements. Practical Applications The method of “M+N” with larger M and N can be used for both sensory discrimination tests and measurements. The method is particularly suitable for a range of nonfatiguing discrimination tasks, e.g., visual inspection and, to a certain extent, manual inspection. With the indices proposed in this article, sensory effects can be measured for the new method. Built-in R programs are used in the article for the analysis. R codes for estimations of the indices and their variances for the method are developed and provided. Tables for two important sensory indices, R-index and d′, corresponding to the observed odds ratio are presented and used in the article.