Mobile sensory research advantages

The story is qnite different, however, in the context of IHUTs, which are getting more and more popular since producers are increasingly also interested in high external validity. In IHUTs, consumers test products as they normally use them, and answer a paper/pencil questionnaire afterwards or go to their PC and fill in an online questionnaire. For this type of research, switching to mobile devices does offer clear advantages compared to data collection via paper/pencil or PCs that are linked to different problans. Paper/pendl questionnaires need to be posted back to the research agency and coded in order to be analysed. Online questionnaires that are answered on the respondent s PC often go hand in hand with a place and time break (i.e. products are e.g. tested in the kitchen and the questionnaire is answered in the workroom or living room). This results in such problems as biased data due to distorted memory, especially for sensory and affective experiences. 

To answer this question, we first need to understand that mobile research is not a sensory method as such, but rather an auxiliary that can be applied to facilitate existing sensory methods. Mobile devices can be used in standard CLTs and IHUTs - two possible ways of gathering information about products. Since CLTs - as the name already implies - take place at one or few location(s), mobile devices are more related to difficulties (e.g. small screens, more difficult data entry) than advantages and can thus not really be recommended. 

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