Open‐ended question method investigation: A study with mashed potatoes

Abstract

Twelve cultivars of potatoes were used for open‐ended question (OEQ) method investigation. OEQs’ were examined for answer box number effect, questioning type, and compared to check‐all‐that‐apply (CATA) in the difficulty of information generation for sensory profile development. Up to four small list‐style answer boxes were recommended for OEQ information collection irrespective of questioning type. A focused questioning technique on specific modalities was found to generate information that is more actionable over‐generalized questioning. The frequency of abstract words was lowest in texture focused open‐ended questioning, followed by aroma or flavor. Overall, OEQ's generated rich information but were difficult to accomplish (more cognitively challenging to respond than CATA, potential ambiguous interpretation of certain terms and dimensionality reduction through data analysis). Irrespective of method type, some cultivars of potato (CO99076‐6R, Purple Majesty, AC99330‐1PY, and Rio Colorado) were found to have similar textures whereas Purple Majesty and Masquerade were similar in flavor. Purple Majesty, Masquerade, CO99076‐6R, and AC99330‐1PY were liked for their texture. Masquerade cultivar was highly liked for aroma, flavor, and texture over others. Practical applications The findings of this study are helpful to understand the type of information open‐ended questions generate and how effectively they can be used to generate terminology in the context of food‐related studies. Open‐ended questions were tested for questioning effect, information type, diversity of responses, and difficulty.