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Consumer Field Tests and Questionnaire Design

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Book cover Sensory Evaluation of Food

Part of the book series: Food Science Text Series ((FSTS))

Abstract

This chapter presents an introduction to consumer testing in various settings including central location and home use tests. The construction of a useful consumer questionnaire requires both skill and experience. General rules for questionnaire design and question construction are presented. Various question formats such as agree–disagree scales and open-ended questions are discussed.

Developing products is easy, developing products that appeal to consumers is less so, and developing products that appeal to a sufficient number of consumers and achieve commercial success based on specific business criteria is very difficult.

—Stone and Sidel (2007)

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Food Science, Cornell University, Stocking Hall, Room 106, Ithaca, 14853, USA

    Harry T. Lawless

  2. Department of Viticulture and Enology, University of California – Davis, 2003 RMI Sensory Building, 95616, Davis, CA, USA

    Hildegarde Heymann

Authors
  1. Harry T. Lawless
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  2. Hildegarde Heymann
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Appendices

Appendix 1: Sample Test Specification Sheet

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Appendix 2: Sample Screening Questionnaire

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Appendix 3: Sample Product Questionnaire

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Lawless, H., Heymann, H. (2010). Consumer Field Tests and Questionnaire Design. In: Sensory Evaluation of Food. Food Science Text Series. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6488-5_15

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