Facial Coding for Qualitative FAQs
Planning
What is Affdex Discovery™?
Affdex Discovery™ is a passive facial coding tool designed to allow qualitative researchers
to uncover participants’ immediate, objective responses to video stimuli and probe
deeper to reveal key emotion insights.
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How does it work?
Participants watch, media, such as ads, trailers & TV programs which is streamed online.
Facial expressions are captured via computer webcam and then emotional feedback are
presented in the Moderator Console. Moderators will see this emotional response and
have the ability to probe participants for further understanding.
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How should I incorporate Affdex Discovery™ into our process?
Affdex Discovery™ can be used for in-session focus groups and for IDIs.
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What type of content can I test?
Affdex Discovery™ requires pre-recorded video content of known duration. a
Is there a max limit on the content length?
Affdex Discovery™ is optimized for short-form content (advertisements, movie ads, promos,
etc.) less than 5 minutes long. Processing the media for the console is proportional to the
length of the media. When choosing what length of content to choose, it is important to
think about the time allotted for the session in total and if there is enough time for each
participant to watch the content during this session.
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Do I need to book a Schlesinger Associates facility to use facial
coding in my focus group or IDI?
Facial coding for qualitative studies is available in any Schlesinger facility or in any other
facility or suitable hardwired / wifi-enabled venue of your choice.
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In what countries is Affdex Discovery™ available?
Affdex has been tested globally and is available in all countries in English where qualitative
research is performed onsite.
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Set-Up
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What are the tasks to be managed and who manages them?
A Schlesinger Project Manager will set up the client’s project in advance. The client’s
video should be delivered no later than 24hrs prior to the session and will be loaded and
pre-tested in the software. Upon request, we can schedule a demo on how to start an
Affdex session, how to read the screens and download reports. For focus groups, we
recommend having a technician on site due to the number of laptops and the possibility
that respondents may need help. If a moderator is uncomfortable launching the Affdex
session for IDIs, a technician can be onsite.
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What are the requirements to use the software?
All that is required is a webcam-enabled laptop/desktop and a fast Internet connection
plus headphones for each respondent. Schlesinger Associates and IVP can provide highend quality laptop and headphone hire and set-up for your IDI or group. A project
manager will work with you on the set-up and a technician can also be hired to oversee
your technical requirements and is recommended for focus groups.
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How should participants be positioned for facial recording?
Affdex Discovery™ provides a ‘picture fame’ on screen to center the participant. The
height of the camera should be adjusted so that it is at the respondent’s eye level (not at
a low/high angle). The camera should be centered directly in front of the respondents.
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Participants should not wear hats, eat or chew gum during the test. Hair that covers the
forehead should be pinned away. Cell phones should be silenced and distractions
minimized. Lighting should come from above, not behind the participant.
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How much calibration is required? There is a simple camera check page that helps the participants center themselves into
the camera view, no other calibration is needed.
Using Affdex Discovery™
How long would it take to get results once the video is shown?
The results are available for each participant once they have completed watching the
video. Processing time is roughly equivalent to the length of the media tested. E.g.: if the
video file is 30 seconds, the processing will take about 30 seconds to complete. Your Global Research Partner, Anywhere, Anytime
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What are the traces shown on the moderator screen?
The moderator console uses the Affdex Valence Metric. Valence is a measure of overall
positivity.
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How do you flag reactions or create event markers?
Affdex Discovery™ uses thresholds to detect significant reactions and mark them as
"events". The thresholds are set by Affdex and validated by the Affdex science team.
Green indicates a smile dominates and red indicates where brow furrow dominates.
What does “No Response Detected” mean? This means that the participants have had no facial movement from their baseline. This
will show a ‘flat line curve’.
How often do you get the ‘poker face’ and not see any
reactions? This depends on the type of media content being tested. Affdex
Discovery™ is used as a helpful probing tool in gathering deeper emotional insight of
participants.
Can I view demographic information on my focus participants?
Yes, you can include 5 simple survey questions (e.g. demographics) into the participant
process. These questions can be standardized or configured for each project. Your
Schlesinger Interactive project manager will be happy to help you draft this survey.
What does the in-session output look like? - What is the Console?
The moderator receives ran interactive Console to use in-session that displays the
emotional reactions of each participant. The moderators can choose to keep this to
themselves or share it with the participants to spur discussion.
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What does the post-session output look like? - What is the
Dashboard?
The moderator can also receive an optional post-analysis dashboard. Here, the media is
integrated with additional emotion traces and metrics to support moment-by-moment
analysis by survey break.
Your Global Research Partner, Anywhere, Anytime
Affdex Dashboard Metrics
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What metrics does the dashboard present?
Smile
The degree to which a participant displays a smile, incorporating the eyes and mouth to
accurately indicate a true smile.
Concentration/Frown
The degree to which the participant furrows their brow area by pulling the inner eyebrow in
toward the nose. This expression is attributable to cognitive processing, focus, or confusion.
Surprise
The degree to which the participant displays raised eyebrows.
Dislike / Disgust
The degree to which the participant wrinkles their nose and/or grimaces.
Valence
A calculated parameter driven up by smile and down by concentration. Smile dominates
concentration when valence is greater that zero.
Attention
A measure of orientation of the face to the screen. This quantifies when participants are
distracted (turning away).
Expressiveness
A measure of how emotionally engaging content is, expressiveness is driven up by smile,
dislike/disgust, surprise and concentration/frown.
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Sharing Results
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How can I share this data with my clients?
Affdex Discovery™ Moderator Console:
Screenshots can be used to share information outside the console. Alternatively, clients can
be given direct access to the console.
Affdex Dashboard:
The dashboard provides special functionality to create exports of traces that can be used in
PowerPoint slides or other documents via the P icon:
Clients can be given access to the Affdex Discovery™ Moderator Console. However, they
have the same access as partners with the console with the ability to edit the focus groups
and reset participants; they will automatically have access to the dashboard.
Your Global Research Partner, Anywhere, Anytime