Overview 

The difference between Temporal Dominance  of Sensations (TDS) and Temporal  Order  of Sensations (TOS): the TDS asks which attribute is the most noticeable, or dominant, at any given moment, while TOS asks about the order in which attributes are perceived. 

Test Setup

1. Create a Standard test and go through the Overview and Samples & design tabs to set those components up as necessary. 
   
   
2. In the Build tab, in the Questions bar on the left, expand the Temporal list, and click TOS to add this question into your test.
   
   
   If you wish to ask your panelists any follow up questions, e.g. a Comment, you can add them from the same left bar. If you wish to provide a short break between samples, add a Text/time delay ,  or add a Pause for extended breaks. Partial Present feature is recommended for extended breaks between subgroups of samples for evaluations in the lab.
   
   
3. Update the following in the Build tab as necessary: 
   
   1. Text visible to panelists .
      
   1. You can update any of the preset text, such as:  Welcome screen  and Thank you screen.
      
      
   2. Add your text/instructions in the TOS  question or any other follow up questions and screens that you may have added. 
      
      
   3. Question names are important to be descriptive for your reporting purposes, which can also be displayed to panelists through the Question options if desired.
      
      
   2. Question options . Expand the page, click in the question's white space and click Question options .
      
      
      In addition to the options common to most question types (such as question name, question presentation method, whether or not you wish to display the blinding codes through the options or use a wildcard, etc), below are the options specific to the Temporal question types to help you ensure proper display of the TOS question: 
      
      • Choices. Click Add choice to add desired choices. By default, choices will be displayed to panelists in a fixed order (everyone will see the choices in the order you added them). If you wish to randomize the choices:
        
      • Set their presentation order to Use a design .
           
        
        
      • After that, in the Presentation order design dropdown select a design that suits your presentation needs. 
        
        
        
      • Auto forward: Yes/No 
        
        This option indicates whether the question will automatically move to the next question/screen within the test when the allotted time has been reached. If this option is toggled to Yes , the panelist will not need to click the Next  button. The default is No .
        
        
        
      • Allow stop before time elapses:  Yes/No 
        

        This option indicates whether your panelists are allowed to click the Stop  button before the allotted time has been reached. The default is Yes .
        

        
        
      • Maximum time: Enter the maximum time panelists are allowed to evaluate. The highest value is 1800 seconds. The default is 30.
        
        
      • Response fade time: Enter the value in seconds to specify how long after an attribute has been selected the button will start to fade away. If they still perceive the attribute after the button fades away, panelists can click on the attribute again. The value of 0 seconds means that the fading feature is not going to be used. The default is 0.
        
        
      • Allow multiple selections:  Yes/No 
        
        This option allows panelists to select as many attributes as they wish, simultaneously. If you set the option to Yes, the question will no longer be a TOS question, but rather a TCATA. The default is No .
        
        
      • Maximum selections allowed: Unlimited, 1 through 8
        Select from the list the number of choices panelists can select during the evaluation. The default is 3 .
        
        
      • Allow repeat selection of an attribute:  Yes/No 
        

        This option indicates whether your panelists are able to re-select an attribute throughout the time allotted. If you set the option to Yes, the question will no longer be a TOS question, but rather a TDS. The default is No.
        

        
        
      • Choice arrangement:  Row/Column 
        
        This option is used for the orientation in which the choices will be displayed to panelists. When Row is selected, the choices will be displayed to the end of the row first and then go to the next row if more than one column is set. When Column is selected, the choices will be displayed down the column before going to the next column if more than one column is set. The default is Row .
        
        Let's observe "Salty" in our two examples that have the following list of choices: Sweet, Salty, Bitter, Spicy. You can control where Salty will be positioned by adjusting the Choice arrangement and Choice layout options.
           vs.   
        
        
      • Choice layout:  One column  through  Three columns 
        This option allows for you to select in how many columns the choices will appear, up to a maximum of 3 columns. The default is One column.
        
        
      • Events: This is an optional feature that is much better suitable for TDS and TCATA tests.
        Click Add event to add one or more events for panelists to click on during the evaluation to indicate what activity they are performing at that moment. For example, you might want panelists to indicate when they applied the sample, when they stopped spreading it, etc. It is not mandatory for panelists to click the events, but if you expect them to click the events, make sure to provide clear instructions. In the analysis, Events can be used for splitting data based on them. See the analysis page for details.
        
        
      • Messages: Display to your panelists brief messages at specific time points throughout their evaluation. In browsers that have the sound enabled, the message will also play a sound to assist with attracting panelists' attention.
        
        Click Add message , specify the start and end time for the message, and enter the message text for each message.
        
        
        Based on the example provided in the above image, between the fourth and the tenth second of their evaluation, panelists will see a message like this:
        
        
        
4. Update the Panelists and Logistics tabs as necessary, preview and run the test .
   

TOS Analysis