Question Type: Line Scale Wheel

Question Type: Line Scale Wheel

Overview

The Line scale wheel is an interactive tool that can be used for flavour or aroma testing (e.g. in beverages) with trained panelists and panelists in training. The attributes are arranged in a circular form (the wheel) and panelists are asked to select the attribute that they perceive and then scale it. The pre-set attributes consist of the most often used terminology assisting panelists in building a vocabulary around a specific product or category of products (coffee, wine, beer, chocolate, etc...).

The wheel question can also be set up as a Category Scale, or as a Check all that apply (CATA) wheel question, or as a combination of a Category and CATA wheel question.

Every wheel can have up to three levels. All levels can be a series of attributes, or one of the levels (the inner most) can be labels that are not possible to rate, or you can make the inner most level a combination of labels and attributes. If labels are used, then up to two levels of attributes can be rated for that label. If labels are not used, then up to three levels of attributes can be rated in a segment.

An attribute or a label does not have to have all levels added under it. You get to add up to three and a minimum of one level.


Looking at our example wheel above, which is what panelists will see, we can observe the following:
  1. There are three levels in the wheel, but some segments do not have three levels.

  2. A segment is a section of the wheel radiating from the centre of the wheel towards the end. For example:
    1. "Spice" is an inward label or attribute (depending on the setup) that contains two outward levels.
    2. The first outward level consists of "Savoury Spices", "Sweet Spices", and "Nutty".
    3. The next outward level consists of the following attributes:
      1. "Licorice", Black Pepper", and "Nutmeg", all linked to the "Savoury Spices" attribute.
      2. "Vanilla", "Clove", and "Anise", all linked to the "Sweet Spices" attribute.
      3. "Coconut" and "Almond", both linked to the "Nutty" attribute.
    4. All these together make a segment in a wheel.

  3. Each attribute can have a different colour and you can maintain the hue for related attributes within segments if you wish.



Add a Wheel Question in a Test

  1. From the Build tab, in the left sliding pane, expand Line scales and click Line scale wheel. 

  2. Update the Question name and add panelist instructions at the question level as necessary.

    Newly added Line scale wheel question will look something like this in the Build tab:


    By default, the Line scale wheel attributes are 100-point scales without descriptors for anchors. If you wish to make your wheel with different number of points and/or descriptors, it is best to do that at this stage when you have only one attribute.

    Go to the Attribute options and make necessary changes. That way all the other attributes can easily be cloned from this one, requiring minimal updates to them (only attribute name update should be needed in this case).


  3. Click Edit wheel to start adding labels and attributes and arrange them into appropriate levels. The initial screen will look something like this:


    You will find a pre-set attribute at the top level (inner most circle) of the wheel. 


All changes made in the Edit wheel screen are saved automatically and cannot be cancelled or otherwise undone. If you need to revert any changes, you have to manually redo what you changed. For example, if you renamed an attribute and realize that wrong attribute was renamed, you have to rename that same attribute back to what it was before and then you can rename the attribute that actually needed renaming.


Create a Wheel Without Labels

The assumption is that this is your first wheel question setup; that you are starting from zero. In this section of the workflow we will focus on creating a wheel without labels, as labels are not mandatory. Wheels can have labels only in the inner most level (circle) that are for information purposes, that panelists cannot rate. This means that in our example the panelists will get up to three levels of attributes that they can rate.
  1. Let's start with creating a segment in the wheel for fruity flavours. Click Edit wheel, select the pre-set attribute, click Rename, and update the attribute name (in our example it is "Fruity"), and click Save. Your wheel editing screen will look similar to this:


  2. If the automatic colour assignment does not meet your testing needs, select the attribute and click Colour. Select the colour of your choice and click Save.

    It might be worth waiting until you are completely done with the wheel setup to update colours, to avoid additional work during the setup.


  3. Select the "Fruity" attribute and click Clone. Specify the name for the new attribute (in our example it is "Berry") and click Clone. The new attribute will be added at the same level with the "Fruity" attribute.


  4. Since we are building all levels of the fruity segment of the wheel, we need to move the new attribute to be nested (indented) under the "Fruity" one. Select the attribute and drag and drop it indented under the "Fruity" attribute. Alternatively, click Move, select Nested under, and select "Fruity". Click Move item.


    When properly moved, the attributes should be like this:


  5. Let's add some different berry flavour attributes. Select the "Berry" attribute.

    If you confirmed that the scale format suits your testing needs, click Clone. If you are not sure what the scale looks like, do not clone until you fully set the first attribute up the way you need it to be. To do that, click Close to exit the wheel editing screen and then in the Build tab, click Expand attributes to see the scale.


    If changes are needed, click in the white space above the scale and click Attribute options. Make necessary changes and save.


    Click Edit wheel to return to the wheel editing screen and select the "Berry" attribute.

  6. Click Clone.


    Specify the name for the new attribute (in our example it is "Blueberry") and click Clone. The new attribute will be added at the same level with the "Berry" attribute, so we need to move it.

  7. Select the "Blueberry" attribute and drag and drop it under the "Berry" attribute. Alternatively, click Move, select Nested under, and select "Berry". Click Move item. When properly moved, the attributes should look like this:


  8. To add another berry attribute, clone the "Blueberry" attribute and it will be added at the same level, under the "Berry" attribute, which is exactly what we wanted. Continue cloning the attributes at this level to complete the berry segment.

  9. To add a new fruity flavour, click the "Berry" attribute and clone it. Specify a name for the new attribute (in our example it is "Citrus") and click Clone. The new attribute will be added at the same level with the "Berry" attribute, which is exactly what we wanted.


Repeat these steps until you complete your wheel setup. Click Close to return to the Build tab.


Create a Wheel With Labels

The assumption is that this is your first wheel question setup; that you are starting from zero. In this section of the workflow we will focus on creating a wheel with labels. Wheels can have labels in the most inner level (circle) that are for information purposes, that panelists cannot rate. This means that the panelists will get up to two levels of attributes that they can rate, and the most inner level will be labels that cannot be rated.

  1. Let's start with creating a segment in the wheel for fruity flavours. Click Edit wheel, click Add top level label, specify the label name (in our example it is "Fruity Flavours"), and click Add. Your wheel editing screen will look similar to this:


  2. If the automatic colour assignment does not meet your testing needs, select the attribute and click Colour. Select the colour of your choice and click Save.

    It might be worth waiting until you are completely done with the wheel setup to update colours, to avoid additional work during the setup.


  3. Select the pre-set attribute, click Rename, and update the attribute name. In our example it is "Berry".

  4. Let's move this attribute under your newly created label. Select the attribute and drag and drop it under the "Fruity Flavours" label. Alternatively, click Move, select Nested under, and select the label name under which you will move the attribute to. Click Move item.


  5. Let's add some specific different berry flavour attributes. Select the "Berry" attribute. If you confirmed that the scale format suits your testing needs, click Clone. If you are not sure what the scale looks like, do not clone until you fully set the first attribute up the way you need it to be. To do that, click Close to exit the wheel editing screen and then click Expand attributes to see the scale.


    If changes are needed, click in the white space above the scale and click Attribute options. Make necessary changes and save.


    Click Edit wheel to return to the wheel editing screen and select the attribute

  6. Click Clone.


    Specify the name for the new attribute (in our example it is "Blueberry") and click Clone. The new attribute will be added at the same level with the "Berry" attribute, so we need to move it.

  7. Select the "Blueberry" attribute and drag and drop it to be nested (indented) under the "Berry" attribute. Alternatively, click Move, select Nested under, and select "Berry". Click Move item.


  8. To add another berry attribute, clone the "Blueberry" attribute and it will be added at the same level, under the "Berry" attribute, which is exactly what we wanted. Continue cloning the attributes at this level to complete the berry segment.

  9. To add a new fruity flavour, click the "Berry" attribute and clone it. Specify a name for the new attribute (in our example it is "Citrus") and click Clone. The new attribute will be added at the same level with the "Berry" attribute, which is exactly what we wanted.


Repeat these steps until you complete your wheel setup. Click Close to return to the Build tab.



Set the Wheel Question Options



Analysis for the Line scale wheel data provides the same reporting options as any other Standard test with Line scale questions in them.


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