Beyond sensory characteristics, how can we identify subjective dimensions? A comparison of six qualitative methods relative to a case study on coffee cups

• The tested methods allowed eliciting subjective dimensions that distribute into several categories.
• Projective techniques yielded the greater number of evocations.
• Sorting task and repertory grid method are the least adapted methods to identify subjective dimensions.
• Word association and sentence completion method seems to be the most comprehensive method to identify subjective dimensions.

This article compares six qualitative methods used to identify consumer perceptions: the sorting task with verbalization, the repertory grid method, the projective technique of word association and sentence completion, the projective technique of image association, a method based on the self-explanation of preferences and the focus group. We applied these methods to a set of coffee cups. For each method, eight different consumers assessed the same eight cups. The terms thus elicited were classified into two pre-established categories: product attributes (this cup is modern) and evocations (this cup reminds me of family time). We then proposed sub-categories: ten for product attributes and five for evocations. The methods were compared according to the number of different variables generated in each sub-category. The ease of implementation and pragmatic considerations relative to the methods are also presented. The test methods enabled the elicitation of different subjective dimensions distributed into several pre-defined categories. According to our criteria, the word association and sentence completion method appeared to be the most comprehensive technique to identify subjective dimensions.