Multiple factor analysis with confidence ellipses:: a methodology to study the relationships between sensory and instrumental data

This paper describes a methodology to simultaneously analyse instrumental and sensory variables. The methodology is based on multiple factor analysis (MFA) which provides dimensions of variability of the products, connected to the two types of variables. The MFA graphics are constructed with confidence ellipses around the products in order to visualize the uncertainty in their position. These ellipses are drawn using a bootstrap procedure on the basis of both the instrumental and the sensory data or on the basis of the sensory data only. Copyright (C) 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.