Method for determining the intrinsic gel strength of a water-absorbing hydrogel-forming polymeric material, comprising the step of: obtaining a hydrogel of said water-absorbing polymeric material, submitting said hydrogel to a controlled strain application step and measuring the stress or submitting said hydrogel to a controlled stress application step and measuring the strain, and determining from said measured stress or strain of step c) the modulus of said hydrogel.
