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 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A
AAU (Attitude, Awareness and Usage) Study: A type of tracking study that monitors changes in consumer attitudes, awareness and usage levels for a product category or specific brand.
Accuracy: The degree of conformity of a sample statistic to the population.
Active Buyer: Customer whose latest purchase was made within the last 12 months.
Ad Concept Testing: Testing used to determine the target audience reaction to alternative advertising approaches or preliminary ad concepts.
Ad Hoc Surveys: Questionnaires administered to the target audience with no prior contact by the researcher.
Ad Positioning Statement Tests: Testing to determine reactions of the target audience to positioning statements that are being considered for use in advertisements.
Ad Tracking Research: Periodic measurements of the impact of advertisements over time.
Agency: Any individual, organisation, department or division, including those belonging to the same organisation as the client, responsible for or acting as a supplier on all or part of a research project.
Allowable Sampling Error: The amount of sampling error the researcher is willing to accept.
Area Samples: Samples which include geographic areas as part of the sample design.
Audit: The examination and verification of the sale of a product. A method for measuring sales in a store by counting beginning inventory, adding new shipments, and subtracting ending inventory. Also used to determine inventory lost to theft.
Awareness: The proportion of people who are familiar with a product, brand name or trademark.
B
Banner: The column headings, or cross-tab breaks, that run horizontally across the top of a computer table.
Base: The number on which the percentages in a table are calculated.
Basic Research: Research aimed at expanding knowledge rather than solving a specific, pragmatic problem.
Benchmark: A control source against which you compare the area you're studying. For example, you may compare the results of a study in one state to the results of the nation as a whole.
Bias: A systematic tendency of a sample to misrepresent the population. Biases may be caused by improper representation of the population in the sample, interviewing techniques, wording of questions, data entry, etc.
Boundary: The border around a market area that is being studied.
Brand Associations: Components of brand image, usually (but not always) assessed by qualitative research method.
Brand Equity: The level of awareness and consumer goodwill generated by a company's brands and/or products.
Buying Intent: A scale used to measure the likelihood that the respondent will purchase a product.
C
Causal Research: Study examining whether one variable causes or determines the value of another.
Client: Any individual, organisation, department or division, including those belonging to the same organisation as the research agency, responsible for commissioning or who agree to subscribe to a market research project.
Closed-End Question: Questions that ask the respondent to choose from a limited number of pre-listed answers.
Cognitive Component of Attitudes: An individual's knowledge and beliefs about an object.
Comparative Scales: A judgment comparing one object, concept or person against another on a scale.
Concept Description: A brief description of a new product or service.
Conclusions: The outcome or result; the section of the final report that contains the interpretation of the data in light of the research objectives. See also executive summary.
Constitutive Definition: Advertising displays of various sizes posted in buses, subways, and commuter trains.
Consumer Orientation: Identification of and focus on the individuals or firms most likely to buy a product or service.
Content Analysis: A technique used to study written material (usually advertising copy) by breaking it into meaningful units, using carefully applied rules.
Continuous Research: A survey conducted on a regular and frequent basis among parallel samples within the same population or a survey in which the interviews are spread over a long period of time.
Custom Marketing Research: Customized marketing research to address specific projects for corporate clients.
Customer Satisfaction Research: Research conducted to measure overall satisfaction with a product or service and satisfaction with specific elements of the product or service.
D
Data: The collection of observations.
Day-After Recall: An advertising testing technique that measures the proportion of people recalling an outdoor advertising campaign within 24 hours of its installation.
Descriptive Studies: These studies answer the questions who, what, when, where, how.
Discussion Question: A question which has no pre-listed answers and thus allows the respondent to answer in his/her own words. Also known as open-ended question.
Disguised Observation: The process of monitoring people, objects, or occurrences that do not know they are being watched.
Distribution Check: A study measuring the number of stores carrying specified products, along with the number of facings, special displays, and prices of the products.
 
E
Editing:The process of ascertaining that questionnaires were filled out properly, completely and accurately.
Element Sampling: A procedure in which each unit of a population has an equal chance of being chosen.
Evaluate Research: Research to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of specific programs.
Executive Summary: The portion of a research report that explains why the research was done, what was found and what those findings mean, and what action, if any, management should undertake.
Experiment: The process of making an observation or taking a measurement.
Experimental Design: A test in which the researcher has control over one or more independent variables and manipulates them.
Experimental Effect: The effect of the treatment variable on the dependent variable.
Experimental Unit: The basic element on which the experiment is conducted. Also called a subject, unit, respondent, participant or unit of analysis.
F
Factor: A variable that is controlled or manipulated by the researcher. May also be known as the independent variable or factor.
Factor Analysis: Procedure for data simplification through reducing the many rating scales (or set of variables) used by the researcher to a smaller set of factors or composite variables by identifying dimensions underlying the data.
Field Experiments: Tests conducted outside the laboratory in an actual market environment.
Field Service: Collection of survey data.
Frequency: A measure of how often an event occurs; a count of the number of subjects falling in the different categories.
G
Group Discussions/Focus Groups: A number of respondents gathered together to generate ideas through the discussion of, and reaction to, specific stimuli. Under the steerage of a moderator, focus groups are often used in exploratory work or when the subject matter involves social activities, habits and status.
H
Homogeneous Groups: Groups in which the units or individuals have extremely similar characteristics.
Humanistic Inquiry: A research method in which the researcher is immersed in the system or group under study.
I
Intercept: A recruitment method in which an interviewer stops people in a mall or other public location and administers survey.
Itemized Rating Scales: Scales in which the respondent selects an answer from a limited number of ordered categories.
J
Judgment Sample: A sample containing certain types of respondents, who are selected on the basis of the judgment that their attitudes or behavior will be representative of the population.
L
Laboratory Experiments: Experiments conducted in a controlled setting.
Lifestyle Research: Research that attempts to explain behavior by analyzing people's attitudes, hobbies, activities and opinions. Often associated with psychographic research.
Logit Model: A version of regression analysis using an S-shaped curve instead of a straight line. Used when responses are binary, e.g., yes/no, rather than continuous numbers.
M
Mall Intercept Interviewing: Shoppers are intercepted in public areas of malls and interviewed face-to-face.
Market: Total of all individuals or organizations that represent potential buyers.
Market Segmentation: The process of dividing a total market into sub-groups of consumers who exhibit differing sensitivities to one or more marketing mix variables.
Marketing: The process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives.
Marketing Information Systems (MIS): These systems create rather than simplify manipulated data, presenting data in a form useful to a variety of people within the organization.
Mean: The sum of the values for all observations of a variable divided by the number of observations.v
Measurement: Process of assigning numbers or labels to things in accordance with specific rules to represent quantities or qualities of attributes.
Methodology: The research procedures used; the section of the final report in which the researcher outlines the approach used in the research, including the method of recruiting participants, the types of questions used, and so on. Methodology can also mean the approach a moderator uses to conduct focus groups.
Metric Scale: Identifies categories of the variable in which observations can be ranked from smallest to largest and the distance between variables is meaningful and the ratios of the observations are meaningful. Also known as ratio scale. Examples include weight, height, age, etc.
Mystery Shopping: Identifies categories of the variable in which observations can be ranked from smallest to largest and the distance between variables is meaningful and the ratios of the observations are meaningful. Also known as ratio scale. Examples include weight, height, age, etc.
N
Non-Comparative: A judgment made without reference to another object, concept, or person.
Numeric Database: Database containing original survey data on a wide variety of topics.
O
Objectives: The information to be developed from a study to serve the project's purpose.
Observation Research: Descriptive research that monitors respondents' actions without direct interaction. Sometimes called a quasi-experiment.
One-Way Frequency Table: A table showing the number of responses to each answer of a survey question.
Ordinal Scale: Identifies categories of the variable which can be ranked from smallest to the largest, but the distance between observations is not meaningful. An example would be a question which attempts to record the degrees of opinions using terms such as poor, fair, good and excellent.
P
Parameter: Numerical summary measure of a population distribution.
Primary Data: New data gathered to help solve the problem at hand. As compared to secondary data with is previously gathered data.
Primary Research: Conducting research to collect new data to solve a marketing information need. See also secondary research.
Product Concept Testing: The testing of new product ideas before they have been turned into prototypes.
Product Placement Study: A type of test in which respondents try a product under normal usage conditions. Example: in-home test of a food product. Also called a product test.
Product Positioning Research: Research used to determine how competitive brands are perceived relative to each other on key dimensions.
Psychographics: Research that attempts to explain behavior by analyzing people's personality traits and values. Often associated with lifestyle research.
Purpose: The reason a research project is being conducted; usually focuses on the decisions for which information from the study will be used.
  
Q
Qualitative: Research data not subject to quantification or quantitative analysis; characterized by the absence of empirical measurements and an interest in subjective evaluation. Qualitative methodologies include focus groups, mini-groups, one on-ones and open ended-questions.
Qualitative Research: A body of research techniques which seeks insights through loosely structured, mainly verbal data rather than measurements. Analysis is interpretative, subjective, impressionistic and diagnostic.
Quantitative Research: Research conducted for the purpose of obtaining empirical evaluations of attitudes, behavior or performance. Designed to generate projectable numerical data about a topic.
Questionnaire: A set of questions designed to generate data necessary for accomplishing the objectives of the research project.
R
Random Sampling: A sample in which each unit has an equal and independent chance of selection. Also known as probability sample.
Recommendations: The section of the final report that suggests the next action steps a client could take, based on the conclusions of the research.
Research Design: The plan to be followed to answer the research objectives; the structure or framework to solve a specific problem.
Rule: A guide or a command that tells a researcher what to do.
S
Sample Distribution: A frequency distribution of all the elements of an individual sample.
Sample Population: The population from which the sample is obtained.
Sampling: The method of selecting a specified portion, called a sample, from a population, from which information concerning the whole can be inferred.
Sampling Error: The estimated inaccuracy of the results of a study when a population sample is used to explain behavior of the total population.
Sampling Unit: The elements available for selection at during the sampling process.
Secondary Data: Data that has been previously gathered.
Secondary Research: Analyzing information from previously conducted research projects. See also primary research.
Segment: Portion selected on the basis of a special set of characteristics.
Selection: Process of choosing records using specific criteria from a population.
Selection Bias: Systematic differences between the test group and control group because of a biased selection process.
Shopper Patterns: Drawings that record footsteps of a shopper through a store.
Simple Random Sample (SRS): A sample selected in such a way that every element of the population has a known and equal chance of being chosen for the sample. Also called random sample.
Site Evaluation: Determining, through an analysis of a given area's demographic and economic characteristics, whether it offers a good market for a product or service.
Specialized Service or Support Firms: Companies that handle a specific facet of research, such as data processing or statistical analysis, for many corporate clients.
Specifications: The criteria for participants in a focus group, involving their demographic characteristics, product usage, product awareness, and so on.
Stability: Lack of change in results from test to retest.
Strata: Segments of the population.
Subject: The basic element on which the experiment or study is conducted. Also known as a participant, experimental unit, respondent, unit or unit of analysis.
Survey: The systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of information about some aspect of study. In market research the term is applied particularly to the collection of information by means of sampling and interviews with the selected individuals.
Survey Objectives: The decision-making information sought through the questionnaire.
Survey Research: Research in which an interviewer interacts with respondents to obtain facts, opinions and attitudes.
Systemic Error: Error that results from the research design or execution.
T
Tabulation: Putting data collected during research into tables. Cross-tabulation involves a two dimensional table, based on answers to two of the questions included in a survey.
Target Population: The population which is being studied.
Test Market: Trial market for a new product or service offer.
Tests of Significance: Tests for determining whether observed differences in a sample are sufficiently large as to be caused by something other than mere chance.
Time Use Survey: A survey of how people use their time, taken by asking people to record what they do and how they do it in a diary over several days or weeks.
Tracking: Studies repeated over time to monitor changes in a brand or product category.
Trade Area: Geographical area from which the customers of a business are drawn; it can be as small as a section of a city or as large as the entire country.
Traffic Counters: Machines used to measure vehicular flow over a particular stretch of roadway.
U
Unit of Analysis: The basic element on which the experiment or study is conducted or from which data are collected. Also known as the respondent, participant, unit, subject or experimental unit.
V
Validity: Whether what we tried to measure was actually measured.
Variability: Differences in the measurement of variables.
Variable: Any characteristic that can be measured on each unit of the population.
Viewing Facility: Premises used for conducting market research, particularly group discussions. Rooms have observation suites where the client can observe the proceedings undetected by the respondents either by video link or through a one-way mirror.
Virtual Reality (VR): An artificial environment that is experienced through sensory stimuli provided by a computer, it is one of the latest technologies to be applied as a tool in experimentation.
W
Weighing: Assigning a numerical coefficient to an item to express its relative importance in a frequency distribution.