For compositional methods, the perceptual map must be validated against other measures of perception, because the positions are totally defined by the attributes specified by the researcher. For decompositional methods, the most important issue is the description of the perceptual dimensions and their correspondence to attributes. The researcher must select the type of procedure that best suits both the objectives of the research and the available information. Thus, the researcher must plan for deriving the dimensional labels as well as the estimation of the perceptual map. Great care must be taken when attempting to use MDS for creating perceptual maps.
Misuse is common.
The researcher should become familiar with the technique before using it and should view the outputs as only the first step in the determination of perceptual information. University of North Carolina. Johnson, I., Black, E., Lim, F. Multidimensional Scaling . School of Archeology, University of Sydney, Australia, 1998. Hair, et al.