BNResearch - Glossary of Market Research Terminology

Learn the language. Market research terminology.

Ad concept testing – Testing done to determine reaction to various ad concepts.

Aided Recall/Awareness – Occurs when you read or display a name or other stimulus and the respondent expresses familiarity with the stimulus only after they hear or see it.

AMA – American Marketing Association

Analysis of variance (ANOVA) – An analytical technique to determine differences among means of two or more variables.

Analyst – The person who reviews, analyzes and summarizes research data.

Attitude Research – Research done to gain an understanding of how people feel about certain products/services, topics or organizations.

Awareness (Recall) – A research technique used to measure a respondent’s knowledge of a particular topic or subject. “Top-of-mind awareness,” “unaided awareness,” and “aided awareness” are different types of measurements used to gauge recall.

Balanced Scales – Rating scales that have the same number of categories both positive and negative.

Banner – The categories that run across the top of a computer-generated report table.

Base – The number of respondents who answer a particular question. In a computer-generated report table these numbers run across the top to show what the percentages in a table are calculated on.

Bench Mark – The standard by which something is measured against. In research, a benchmark is generally the first of a series of the same study done over time to measure change.

Bias – A sample that is not reflective of the population it is intended to represent. Biases may be caused by unrepresentative recruitment, improper interviewing, poor wording of questions or question sequence, etc.

Buying Intent – The likelihood a survey respondent will buy a product. The measure is usually done on a rating scale.

CATI – An acronym for Computer Aided Telephone Interviewing. The telephone interviewer has at his station a computer that has survey questions come up on screen to be asked of the survey respondent. The interviewer records the response on the computer.

Closed-end Questions – Question on a survey that have possible responses listed as potential answers.

Coding – Combining answers to a question into similar categories and assigning a numeric code to each of the categories of response.

Completion Rate (Completes Per Hour - CPH) – The number of interviews completed per hour of interviewing time.

Confidence Interval – Also known as a margin of error, this is a measurement of the accuracy of the results of a survey. Example: A margin of error of plus or minus 3.5% means that there is a 95% chance that the responses of the target population as a whole would fall somewhere between 3.5% more or 3.5% less than the responses of the sample (a 7% spread). However, for any specific question, the margin of error could be greater or less than plus or minus 3.5%.

Confidence Level – The probability that a confidence interval (+/- margin of error) will include the true population value. 95% confidence level is the most commonly used.

Cross-Tab – A table that displays the frequency and percentage of respondents that gave responses to one question (column) simultaneously to another question (row).

Custom Marketing Research – A study design to research specific subjects for a specific client.

Customer satisfaction research – Research done to measure satisfaction with various products and/or service attributes.

Data Collection – The act of gathering information from survey respondents.

Data Processing – A computer program such as SPSS is used to tabulate responses to questions and output the answers in the form of tables.

Demographics – Common characteristics used for describing a population. Typical demographic data points include age, gender, marital status, occupation and income.

Discussion Guide – See Moderator Guide.

Executive Interviews – Also known as one-on-one interviews, a qualitative research technique of interviewing individuals one at a time either in person or by phone.

Executive Summary – A section of a research report that summarizes the top-line results of the study.

Final Report – A document presented to the client at the conclusion of a study. The document can be in the form of a PowerPoint presentation or a written report. The report can include an executive summary, a summary of the methodology, the findings and a section of conclusions and recommendations.

Focus Group – A qualitative research technique in which a group of 8 to 12 participants of a common demographic, purchaser type, etc. are led through a discussion of a topic by a focus group moderator.

Focus Group Moderator – See Moderator.

Full Service Research Company – A marketing research firm which offers a complete range of research services including problem definition, research (methodology) design, data collection, analysis and reporting.

Head of Household – The person termed head of household is the person who has primary decision-making responsibility for the household.

Incentive – Payment made to a respondent for participating in a research study.

Intercept Interview – An interview in which shoppers are intercepted in high-traffic locations such as shopping malls, grocery stores and public gathering places and interviewed face-to-face.

Length of Interview – The number of minutes it takes to ask questions and record the responses to a questionnaire.

Mail Panel – A group of people who have agreed to participate in surveys sent though the mail.

Mail Survey – A survey sent to respondents through the mail.

Management Report – A report that summarizes the data collected from the surveys and highlights the key findings.

Market – All potential customers for a particular type of product or service.

Market Segmentation – The division of the market into subgroups with something significant in common in terms of their needs and wants or characteristics.

Marketing – The process of using product, price, place (distribution), and promotion to exchange ideas, goods and services in order to satisfy the needs of the consumer.

Marketing & Opinion Research – The process of collecting information for analysis that is used to guide business decisions.

Marketing Mix – The combination of the marketing 'tactics': product, price, place (distribution) and promotion.

Marketing Research – The planning, collection, and analysis of data and information used to discover and define marketing opportunities and to guide decision making.

Marketing Strategy – A statement (implicit or explicit) of how a brand or product line will achieve its objectives. The strategy provides decisions and direction regarding variables such as the segmentation of the market, identification of the target market, positioning, marketing mix elements, and expenditures. (Source: AMA)

Mean – A measure of central tendency. It is the numerical average.

Media – Refers to the method by which messages are communicated. Magazines, newspapers, televisions, billboards, and radio are classified as media. Plural of medium.

Media Research – Research centered on issues of media selection and efficiency.

Median – The midpoint in a series of numbers; half the data values are above the median, and half are below.

Methodology – The research approach used to collect the data (i.e: telephone and web surveys, mall intercepts, and focus groups.)

Mode –The most frequent response to a question.

Moderator – Someone who asks questions and is in charge of facilitating the discussion in a focus group or in-depth interview.

Moderator Guide – The outline that the moderator uses to facilitate the discussion in the focus group or in-depth interview.

Monitor – A quality control measure which can involve observing, listening to and checking the interviewing for the purposes of ensuring that required procedures are being followed and for giving feedback to the interviewers.

MRA – Marketing Research Association

Mystery Shopping – A research technique used by a wide variety of commercial, governmental and other organizations. It is typically conducted with an evaluator posing as a customer and documenting their experiences and other information with the use of a questionnaire or other report. The evaluator is specially trained to observe and measure the nature and quality of the services being offered to the costumers.

Nonsampling Error – Any inaccuarcy or bias in the results that is caused by something other than the sampling.

Objectives – The purpose of the study; what information is being sought out as a result of the study.

Open-End Questions – Questions that have no predetermined response and allow the respondent to reply in his or her own words.

Order Bias – The problem that occurs when the sequence of questions influence the thought process and manner in which the respondent answers.

Overrecruit – The extra respondents that are recruited for a focus group or executive interview project to plan ahead for the possibility of “no-shows”.

Panel – A long-standing sample that is retained by a market research agency. It is most useful for longevity studies in which the same set of respondents can be queried on a continuous basis.

Perceptual Mapping – Visual representations of consumer perceptions of products, brands, companies or other objects.

Population – The total group of people from which information is needed. Also known as Universe.

Pre-coded Questions – See Closed End Questions.

Pre-Test – A trial run of a questionnaire that is conducted to ensure that the proper information is being elicited.

Primary Research – Data gathered to be used to meet specified objectives. Telephone, mail, intercept, executive interview and web surveys are the most common primary research techniques.

Probe/Probing – An interviewing technique used to acquire more information from the respondent. This is typically used with open-ended questions.

Qualitative Research – Research techniques which seek in-depth insights through loosely structured, mainly verbal data rather than measurements. Focus groups and executive interviews are the most common qualitative research methods.

Quantitative Research – Research that uses mathematical analysis to statistically estimate the viewpoints of the population by providing percentages and averages. Quantitative research is typically conducted through telephone interviews, mail surveys, web surveys and intercepts.

Questionnaire – A set of questions designed to gather the information for the study.

Quota – The total number of interviews to be completed for the research study.

Random Digit Dialing (RDD) – The method of randomly selecting phone numbers to be called. This is most often done by computer and allows for an equal chance for all the numbers in the sample to be dialed.

Random Sample – A sample chosen with little or no attempt to ensure representation of the wider population.

Recruiting – To invite respondents who qualify to take part in a specific research project. Recruiting can be done in person, over the phone, or by mail.

Respondent – The person who is being interviewed.

Sample – The interviewees or respondents who are chosen to represent the population of interest.

Screener – Questions developed to qualify respondents for a specific research study.

Secondary Research – Data that was previously collected, analyzed and reported by an outside source.

Significant Difference – Mathematically, it is the difference between tests of two or more variables. The significance difference varies with the desired confidence level.

Survey – An interview conducted to collect information. The information is recorded for analysis.

Telephone Sample – Respondents who are interviewed over the phone.

Telephone Survey – A survey conducted with respondents over the phone. Telephone surveys are typically done from a central telephone facility.

Unaided Recall/Awareness – A respondent’s recall of a brand name, product, commercial, etc. without any prompts or cues from the interviewer.

Unbiased Questions – Questions designed and read in such a way that they do not influence the respondents or provide any information that would sway the respondents’ way of thinking.

Verbatim – The exact response from a respondent. Answers are recorded word-for-word and are often used to backup any research findings in the final report.

Viewing Room – The room used by clients to view and listen to the focus group proceedings.

Web Panel – A group of people who have agreed to participate in surveys via the internet.

Z-Test – Hypothesis test about a single mean if the sample is large enough and drawn from a normal population. A small sample uses a T-test.