Chemical Senses Advance Access originally published online on April 13, 2006
Chemical Senses 2006 31(6):515-520; doi:10.1093/chemse/bjj054
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Validation of a Handheld Display Device for an Expandable Labeled Magnitude Scale (LMS)
1 Center for Neurosensory Disorders, School of Dentistry, 2160 Old Dental Building, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, NC 27599-7450, USA 2 Center for Neurosensory Disorders, School of Dentistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, NC 27599-7450, USA 3 Dancer Design, 123 Boundary Road, St Helens, UK
Correspondence to be sent to: Steve Guest, School of Dentistry, 2160 Old Dental Building, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7450, USA. e-mail: steve_guest{at}dentistry.unc.edu
Palmtop computers provide a possible avenue for the convenient collection of subjective ratings from individuals outside of a fixed laboratory setting. One disadvantage of these computers is the small size of their display screens, which may reduce the resolution of responses available as compared with standard display screens. One plausible solution to this problem is to use a scale that expands contingent on an initial response made by the subject, so that the final response is made from a scale with finer resolution. To validate this approach, we compared taste intensity judgments of six sucrose solutions (0.03, 0.06, 0.12, 0.24, 0.48, and 0.96 M), using a labeled magnitude scale either presented in expandable form on a palmtop computer (Palm scale) or in conventional (nonexpandable) form on a standard 17'' PC monitor (PC scale). Twenty-four subjects rated all six sucrose solutions thrice, using both scale types, the different scales being used on different days of testing. The scales led to very similar taste intensity ratings at all but the lowest concentration, which was rated less intense on the Palm scale. The Palm scale was used with slightly less precision than the PC scale for the weakest solution concentrations. In summary, the responses of the two scales were similar enough to validate the use of the expandable scale on the palmtop computer outside the laboratory setting.
Key words: labeled magnitude scale, palmtop computer, scale validation, taste