Free choice profiling is a method for determining the quality of a thing by having a large number of subjects experience (view, taste, read, etc.) it and then allowing them to describe the thing in their own words, as opposed to posing them a set of "yes-no-maybe" questions. All of the descriptions are then analyzed to determine a "consensus configuration" of qualities.
Dr Françoise Wemelsfelder is a well known scientist who has done extensive research in this field.
Sources
Raw Hop Aroma Qualities by Trained Panel Free-Choice Profiling, Gregory J. Stucky and Mina R. McDaniel, available on-line
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