Glossary of Marketing and Research Terms

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.

Account Manager/Executive
Generally the person in any company responsible for selling or promoting the services which the company has to offer. In marketing research, this is typically the person at the research company who oversees the entire research process to deliver a project which meets the client's expectations. This person would normally be the client's key contact.

Accuracy
The degree of conformity of a sample statistic to the population.

Action devices
Items and techniques used to encourage positive response, e.g. tokens, stickers.

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.

Affective component of attitudes
An individual's emotional reactions about an object.

Aided Recall/Awareness
A technique used to aid memory, something that stimulates remembering, i.e., picture, words. Reading or showing the respondent the possible answers to a specific question.

Alert
Any means (i.e., telephone, fax, mail) of informing a Data Collection Company of the study authorization to include the starting date, delivery of materials, quota, timing, cost, etc.

Allowable sampling error
The amount of sampling error the researcher is willing to accept.

Alternative hypothesis
What is believed to be true if the null hypothesis is false. Also known as the research hypothesis.

Analysis of variance (ANOVA)
A method of analysis for determining the level of statistical significance of differences among the means of two or more variables.

Analyst
The person most responsible for reviewing, analyzing and summarizing the data from a research project.

Analyze/Analysis
To review information gained from the responses of questionnaires completed for a study; to arrive at conclusions and to make the necessary decisions and recommendations on the subject being studied.

Anthropomorphic
A research technique in which participants describe a product, service or brand in terms of a human being with personality traits so that the participants' feelings about the object/brand can be determined.

Applied research
Any research which is used to answer a specific question, determine why something failed or succeeded, solve a specific, pragmatic problem, or to gain better understanding.

Area samples
Samples which include geographic areas as part of the sample design.

At-home testing
A product sample is provided for participants to use at home. The reaction to the product is determined in a follow-up telephone survey, written survey or in a group session.

Attempt
Every contact with a potential respondent; whether, or not, anyone is actually reached and whether, or not, a completed interview results.

Attitude Research
A survey conducted to obtain information on how people feel about certain products, ideas or companies.

Attitudinal scaling
A moderation technique in which participants are instructed to conceptualize the product or service on a two-dimensional scale, such as price and quality. The goal is to better understand the participants' feelings about the product or service.

Attribute
A word or phrase used to describe the idea, product or object being evaluated.

Audit
This word has two (2) definitions in the marketing research industry. The first is often referred to as a Store Audit. This is a method used to determine the number of units of a product sold in stores. It is the counting of units of specific products on the shelves in a store, along with knowledge of the number of products ordered and stocked. The second definition is often referred to as a Project Audit. This is the act of visiting a project site to ensure all specifications are being met and procedures are being followed.

Awareness
The proportion of people who are familiar with a product, brand name or trademark.

Awareness (Recall)
A measure of a respondent’s knowledge of a particular product, company, service or commercial. Categories of awareness or recall often employed in marketing research include “top of mind awareness,” “unaided awareness,” and “aided awareness.”

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B

Baby boom
The large generation of Americans born after World War II. Usually defined as those born between 1946 and 1964.

Baby boomlet
The children of the baby boom which resulted in a peak in births between 1977 and the present.

Baby bust
Generation between 1965 and 1976, when birth rates dropped rapidly and remained low. Often called generation X.

Back room
The room from which client personnel observe and listen to focus group proceedings through a one-way mirror. Also called the observation room or viewing room.

Banner
The column headings, or cross-tab breaks, that run horizontally across the top of a computer table.

Base
The total number of responses to a particular question and/or a number of total cases in a particular research project.

Baseline market segmentation study
The first market segmentation study conducted by an organization.

Basic research
Research aimed at expanding knowledge rather than solving a specific, pragmatic problem.

Behavioral component of attitude
An individual's intentions to act based on attitudes about an object.

Benchmark
A control source against which you compare the area you're studying.

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.

Biased Questions
Questions which are phrased or expressed in such a way that they influence the respondent’s opinion. They may provide information which leads the respondent to consider the subject in a specific way. Bias may be introduced through verbal or facial expressions, body language, or by paraphrasing questions.

Biased Responses
An untrue statement of an opinion or attitude given by the respondent. This biased or untrue reporting can be conscious or unconscious.

Bimodal
A distribution in which the frequency curve has two peaks. A single peak is called a mode.

Bipolar scale
A scale with two negative, opposite end points and a midpoint representing the ideal situation. Examples: comfortable/uncomfortable, soft/hard, too spicy/too bland.

Bivariate data set
Data set in which two measurements (variables) have been made on each experimental unit or respondent.

Bivariate regression analysis
Analysis of the strength of the linear relationship between two variables, the independent variable and the dependent variable.

Bivariate techniques
Statistical methods of analyzing the relationship between two variables.

Blind Test
A technique used to evaluate a package or product without benefit or influence of the brand name.

Boundary
The border around a market area that is being studied.

Box plot
A graphical tool used to picture the data and possible outliers in the data.

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.

Brand Share
The percentage of a specific product or service sold from among the total products or services sold in a single product/service category. These percentages are typically based on the dollars represented by the sale of the product or service.

Briefing
A training session, prior to starting work on a study/survey, in which all of the survey specifications, questionnaire parts, and details of the interview are reviewed, explained, and clarified for all interviewers assigned to the project. This is generally followed by practice interviews being administered by one interviewer to another.

Buying intent
A scale used to measure the likelihood that the respondent will purchase a product.

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C

Call record sheet
Interviewer log which lists the number and results of a contact.

Callback (CB)
Refers to interviewing a specific person following a product usage or refers to attempts, after the first attempt, to contact potential respondents who were not previously available for interview.

CAPI (computer-aided personal interviewing)
Interviewer-administered surveying using a computer-based questionnaire

Cartoon tests
Tests in which the respondent fills in the dialogue for a character in a cartoon.

CATI (computer-aided telephone interviewing)
Interviewer-administered telephone surveying using a computer-based questionnaire

Causal research
Study examining whether one variable causes or determines the value of another.

Causation
The inference that a change in one variable is responsible for an observed change in another variable.

Cell
A term used when referring to a subsample in a study. In a paired comparison product test, one subsample (or cell of people) tests Product A first and then Product B, while the other subsample (cell) tests the two products in reverse order. These subsamples may be referred to as Cell A and Cell B. It can also refer to geographic areas, North vs. South; demographics, old vs. young, and so forth.

Cell size
Smallest unit or segment quantity of an individual variant within a test program.

Census
A sample consisting of the entire population.

Central limit theorem
A distribution of a large number of sample means or sample proportions will approximate a normal distribution regardless of the actual distribution of the population from which they were drawn.

Central-location study
A survey conducted at a conveniently located site to which respondents come to be interviewed.

Chi-square
A test of statistical significance which tests one measure of how well your model of expected distribution fits the observed distribution.

Choropleth maps
Computer generated maps that represent values with shading.

Clarifying
A follow-up technique for getting complete responses to open-ended questions by asking respondents to explain general terms in their answers. Also see probing.

Classification Questions
Survey questions designed to describe respondents in terms of demographics such as age, income, occupation, etc. Sometimes these questions are called “control questions” or “background questions.”

Client
Anyone who purchases the services of another. In marketing research, the client typically funds and uses the research data, and may be a full-service research company, an advertising agency, a manufacturer, a newspaper or another data collection company.

Closed-end question
Questions that ask the respondent to choose from a limited number of pre-listed answers.

Cluster analysis
A multivariate statistical classification technique for discovering whether the individuals of a population fall into different groups by making quantitative comparisons of multiple characteristics. The differences within any group should be less than the differences between groups. Often used for consumer segmentation and brand positioning.

Cluster sampling
Consists of selecting clusters of units in a population and then performing a census on each cluster. The selection of clusters could be based on some desired feature of the population or could be a random sample of clusters in the population.

Coding
Combining similar answers and assigning a numeric code so they may be processed by a computer. Usually done by a staff of people called Coders working from a code sheet of answers with their assigned code numbers.

Coding
The process of translating responses to questions into numerical form for data processing.

Cognitive dissonance
Dissonance arises after a major purchase (e.g., a car) when alternatives are recommended and/or dislikes emerge with the choice. To eliminate the discomfort of dissonance, the consumer will seek to rationalize the original choice, in other words, find positive advantages and ignore the negative.

Cohort
A group of individuals having a statistical factor (age, race etc.) in common in a demographic study.

Collinearity
The correlation of independent variables with each other. Can bias estimates of regression coefficients.

Comparative scales
A judgment comparing one object, concept or person against another on a scale.

Completion rate
The percent of qualified respondents completing an interview or study.

Completions
Questionnaires that are completed through a pre-determined question sequence and are included in the final data set for the study.

Concentric circle
The shape of a geometric study area, sometimes referred to as a ring.

Concept description
A brief description of a new product or service.

Concept Test
A test of consumer reaction to a description of a product or service rather than to the product or service itself

Conceptual mapping
A moderation technique in which participants are asked to place the names of products or services on a grid. How they group the items on the diagram is used to stimulate discussion.

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.

Concomitant variation
The degree to which a cause and effect occur or vary together.

Concurrent validity
The degree to which a variable, measured at the same point in time as the variable of interest, can be predicted by the measurement instrument.

Conditional probability
The probability of a given event when additional information about that event is known. For example, the probability of rolling a one on the toss of a die when we are given the additional information that the roll landed on an odd number.

Confidence intervals
The range around a survey result for which there is a high statistical probability that it contains the true population parameter.

Confidence level
The probability that a particular confidence interval will include the true population value.

Confidentiality
Confidentiality refers to the act of not divulging two types of information in a research study. First, confidentiality is maintained when study information such as client name, brand name, purpose of the research, concepts and/or pro-ducts (except as directed by the study instructions) is only provided to those who have a need to know. Confidentiality also refers to maintaining the privacy of any information collected from or about any individual respondent.

Conjoint analysis
A multivariate technique used to quantify the value that people associate with different levels of product/service attributes. Respondents trade product attributes against each other to establish product (brand) preference and the relative importance of attributes. Based on utility theory and consumer rationality. Better for functional than fashionable brands.

Conjoint association
A moderation technique in which participants are asked to choose between two hypothetical products or services, each of which has different attributes. The objective is to stimulate discussion about the various attributes in order to gain insight into the relative value of each.

Constant sum scales
Scales that ask the respondent to divide a given number of points, typically 100, among two or more attributes based on their importance to the individual

Constitutive definition
Defines a concept with other concepts and constructs, establishing boundaries for the construct under study and stating the central idea or concept under study.

Construct validity
The degree to which a measurement instrument represents, via the underlying theory, the observed phenomenon to the construct.

Consumer
The ultimate user of product or service, not necessarly a purchaser or even an influancer.

Consumer expenditure
The amount consumers spend on goods and services.

Consumer orientation
Identification of and focus on the individuals or firms most likely to buy a product or service.

Consumer Price Index (CPI)
Compares the current cost of purchasing a fixed set of goods and services with the cost of the same set at a specific base year. The resulting measures can be compared over time.

Consumer unit
All related members of a particular household; a person living alone or sharing a household with others, who is financially independent; two or more persons living together who pool their incomes to make joint purchases.

Contamination
The inclusion of an individual or group of respondents in a test group who do not represent the population.

Content analysis
A technique used to study written material (usually advertising copy) by breaking it into meaningful units, using carefully applied rules.

Continuous variable
A quantitative variable that can assume an infinite number of values associated with the numbers on a line interval. Normally continuous variables are the result of some measurement process. Grade point average is a continuous variable because it can assume any value between 0.0 and 4.0.

Controlled substitutions
Substituting a unit of sample or respondent with another (drawn in accordance with the selection parameters of the individual being replaced).

Convenience sample
A sampling procedure that leaves the selection of respondents totally to the interviewers, with no quotas or qualifications imposed. It consists of those units of the population that are easily accessible.

Convergent validity
The degree of association among different measurement instruments that purport to measure the same concept.

Cooperation Fee (Co-op)
Money paid to stores, respondents, etc. for cooperation on audits, focus groups, etc. Also called an incentive.

Cooperation Rate
The percent of all qualified respondents who agree to complete an interview. The cooperation rate is impacted by length of interview, subject matter, type of person being interviewed and incentive offered.

Copy Testing
Method of determining the degree of understanding, impact, awareness and believability that an ad may generate. Respondent is shown the ad, then questioned about his/her opinions.

CPI (Cost Per Interview)
This cost is determined by dividing the number of completed interviews into the total budget for a project.

Cross-elasticity
The extent to which products are substitutes for one another. Marketers use differentiation and quality to seek to minimize cross-elasticity and thus it could be seen as part of brand equity or marketing effectiveness.

Cross-Tab / Cross-Tabulation
A table which shows the frequency and/or percentage of respondents, who gave various answers to a question in the survey, and which simultaneously shows these answers for various sub-groups of respondents.

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. 

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D

Data Collection
The gathering of information (figures, words or responses) that describe some situation from which conclusions can be drawn. The gathering of information from administered questionnaires.

Data Collection Instrument
Any device used to gather information from a respondent, for example, questionnaires, computers, tape recorders, or video cameras.

Data Processing
The counting and tabulating of raw information into form suitable for indepth analisis and statistical tesitng.

Data processing
Organization of data for the purpose of producing desired information; involves recording, classifying, sorting, summarizing, calculating, disseminating and storing data.

Database management software
Computer programs in which data are captured on the computer, updated, maintained and organized for effective use and manipulation of data.

Daytime population
The population of an area during the daytime (Vancouver downtown core) which is usually far different from the residential population measured by the census.

Debriefing
An in-depth conversation with interviewers at the conclusion of a study. The interviewer plays back his/her impressions of the respondent's feelings about specific questions. This technique is often used immediately after a pre-test of a questionnaire. The information provides the researcher with insights necessary to revise or refine the final questionnaire and/or future studies.

Delphi technique
Method of expert judgment without adequate hard data, e.g., long-term forecasting. Stage I is to poll experts, anonymously and separately. In Stage 2 the results are consolidated and fed back to the experts as a group. Stage 3 polls them individually again, in the light of peer group opinion. In theory, the process continues until consensus arrives.

Demographics
Description of the vital statistics or objective and quantifiable characteristics of an audience or population. Demographic designators include age, marital status, income, family size, occupation, and personal or household characteristics such as age, sex, income, or educational level.

Demography
A social science concerned with the size, distribution, structure, and change of populations.

Density
A measure that is computed by dividing the total population of a geographic unit by its land area measured in square miles or square kilometers.

Dependent variable
A symbol or concept expected to be explained or caused by the independent variable. It is the variable measured on each subject to determine whether its value is affected by the independent variable.

Depth interview
One-on-one interviews that probe and elicit detailed answers to questions, often using nondirective techniques to uncover hidden motivations.

Descriptive studies
These studies answer the questions who, what, when, where, how.

Design control
Use of the experimental design to control extraneous causal factors.

Diary
A log, where information is recorded relating to respondent's experiences with a subject or product. Diaries can also be a record of regular purchases or viewing habits. Often given to respondents when they receive a product to use at home.

Diary panel
A survey in which the same respondents keep a diary of what they watch, listen to, or buy, etc., over specified period of time.

Disappointment score
The proportion of respondents in a product test who indicate, after trying the product, that they would not buy it.

Discrete variable
A quantitative variable that can assume a finite or at most a countable number of values such as the number of children in a family.

Discussion guide
A written outline of topics to cover during a focus group discussion. See also moderator guide.

Disguised observation
The process of monitoring people, objects, or occurrences that do not know they are being watched.

Disposable income
The income available to persons for spending or saving after taxes have been deducted. Also known as discretionary income.

Disproportional or optimal allocation
Sampling in which the number of elements taken from a given stratum is proportional to the relative size of the stratum and the standard deviation of the characteristic under consideration.

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.

Door-to-Door Survey
Interviews conducted in pre-selected areas that involve knocking on the doors of homes to find qualified respondents.

Dyad
A qualitative research methodology in which an interviewer works with two participants at once. This technique is particularly appropriate for products and services for which two persons are relatively equal partners in making a purchase decision.

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E

Editing
The process of examining questionnaires to insure that all the questions have been answered properly and that all written verbatim responses are complete, meaningful and legible.

Eligible Respondent
A person who meets certain criteria set for a particular study and thus qualifies to be included in the study. Respondents may be qualified on such characteristics as age, income, brand used, etc.

Equivalent form reliability
The ability to produce similar results using two instruments as similar as possible to measure the same object.

Estimate
A numerical value obtained from a statistical sample and assigned to the population parameter.

Evaluate research
Research to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of specific programs.

Executive or Business-to-Business Interviews
Interviews that involve talking with business men and women in companies of all sizes as well as other high profile and/or hard to reach persons.

Executive summary
The first portion of a research report that explains in 1 to 2 pages why the research was done, what was found and what those findings mean, and what action, if any, management should undertake.

Exhibits / Exhibit Cards
Printed cards, pictures, statements, actual products or advertisements given or shown to a respondent during the course of an interview, and usually relating to specific questions within the questionnaire. These aid the respondent in answering the question.

Expected value
The mean of a probability distribution. It is the value of the probability distribution we would expect in the long run.

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.

Exploratory research
Preliminary research to clarify the exact nature of the problem to be solved.

External stimuli
Objects that are introduced into a focus group to generate reactions from the participants. Examples include concept boards, product prototypes, and rough and finished advertising. Also known as an exhibit.

External validity
The extent to which causal relationships measured in an experiment can be generalized to outside persons, settings and times.

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F

Face validity
The intuitive test of whether a measurement seems to measure what it is suppose to measure.

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.

Factor loadings
The correlation between each factor score and each of the original variables.

False accuracy
An unwarranted illusion of accuracy provided by details, such as statistics quoted to two decimal places.

Family
Two or more persons who are related by birth, marriage, or adoption and who live together as one household. Families do not include one-person households or those having two or more unrelated individuals.

Female Head-of-Household (FHH):
The woman most responsible for maintaining the household. May or may not be the primary wage earner.

Field
The physical location where the interviewing takes place or statment indicating the data collectin stage of a research study.

Field experiments
Tests conducted outside the laboratory in an actual market environment.

Field Supervisor
The person responsible for the selection, hiring and training of interviewers. He/she is responsible for the data collection phase of the survey according to instructions from the research managers.

Final report
The document that the researcher develops at the conclusion of the research project. Its length varies, but a typical final report includes several sections: an executive summary, a summary of the methodology used, a review of the key findings, and the conclusions or interpretations of what the findings mean in light of the research objectives. Some final reports also contain a recommendations section containing suggestions for the client's next steps based on the conclusions of the research.

Findings
The portion of the final report wherein the facts from the research are summarized. The findings section does not interpret the information but reports the findings on which the interpretation will be based.

Fixed personality association
A projective moderation technique in which participants are shown pictures of people, places or things and asked to interpret them in regard to the topic. Fixed personality associations use the same pictures over an extended period of time rather than varying them so that norms are created that may apply to a large number of sessions.

Focus group
A qualitative market research technique in which a group of 8-12 participants of common demographics, attitudes, or purchase patterns are led through a discussion of a particular topic by a trained moderator.

Focus group facility
Facility consisting of conference or living room settings and an observation room connected to each other by a one-way mirror. In addition, a facility normally provides a variety of services such as recruiting the participants, providing food, procuring competitive product samples and videotaping the sessions.

Focus group moderator
A person trainded in qualitative methetologies that leads the focus group discusions.

Forecast
An estimate, based on assumptions about future trends in births, deaths and migration, or of a demographic characteristic such as population or number of households. Forecasts and projections are terms that are often used interchangeably.

Frame error
Error resulting from an inaccurate or incomplete sample frame.

Frequency
A measure of how often an event occurs; a count of the number of subjects falling in the different categories.

F-test
Test of the probability that a particular calculated value could have been due to chance.

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G

Geocoding (or geographic encoding)
The process whereby addresses are segmented by county, MSA, postal route, etc., in order to compare them with information about the demographics and psychographics of those geographies. Geocoding is integral to demographically-enhanced mailing lists and cluster analysis.

Geodemographic segmentation system
A multivariate statistical classification technique for discovering whether the individuals of a population fall into different groups by making quantitative comparisons of multiple characteristics. The differences within any group should be less than the differences between groups. Often used for consumer segmentation and brand positioning. Often known as cluster analysis.

Geographics
Any method of subdividing a list based on geographic or political subdivisions

Geometric study area
A market site in the shape of a concentric circle or polygon that is to be analyzed.

Global focus groups
Focus groups conducted using satellite video technology in which participants are located in different places, normally in different countries. Also called video focus groups.

Gross income
The total amount of money people have before taxes and necessities are paid for.

Group dynamics
The interaction among people in a group. An effective moderator can enable group dynamics to promote helpful discussion by various techniques, as well as minimize the potentially negative effects of group dynamics.

Growth rate
The total increase or decrease in a population during a given period divided by the average population in that period.

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H

Head of Household
One person in a household is termed as the Head. The Head is usually the person who has primary decision-making responsibility for the household and lives in the dwelling. When two or more people share this responsibility, the client will specify which individual should be surveyed. It may be the person earning the greater income in the household. Survey assignments will generally specify male or female Head of Household to be interviewed. 

Hedonic scale
A scale for measuring general, overall opinion of a product.

Histogram
A histogram is a graphical representation of the data frequancy in finner detail than bar graphs.

Home Use Test
The placement of a test product with the respondent to be used under in-home usage conditions over a specific time period. The test product may be identified or labeled as to what it is, or the product may be blind, only identified by a code letter or number. Respondents may be questioned before they are given the product to use. They are definitely questioned about their reactions to the product after their in-home use experience.

Homogeneous groups
Groups in which the units or individuals have extremely similar characteristics.

Honorarium
The payment provided to focus group participants. The amount varies based on the difficulty of recruiting the participants. Also called the co-op payment or incentive.

Hostess
The individual responsible for greeting the focus participants as they arrive at the facility and for preparing the room. The responsibilities of a hostess include providing food for the participants and the client observers, rescreening respondents when they arrive, preparing name tags, etc.

Household
All persons who occupy a housing unit.

Housing unit
A house, apartment, group of rooms, or a single room occupied as separate living quarters.

Humanistic inquiry
A research method in which the researcher is immersed in the system or group under study.

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I

Incentive
The payment to participants for coming to a focus group. The amount varies dramatically, based on the difficulty of recruiting the participants. Also called honorarium or co-op payment.

Incidence
The frequency of something occurring in the population. It usually refers to persons and is stated as a percentage (i.e., the percentage of people in the Vancouver BC who eat cereal for breakfast). In marketing and opinion research, incidence is a measure of the level of effort needed to reach qualified or eligible respondents.

Income
Is wage or salary income; self-employment income; interest, dividend, or net rental income; EI income; public assistance income; all other income, which includes pensions, alimony, etc.

Independent variable
A variable that is controlled or manipulated by the researcher.

In-depth Interview
An interviewing approach which delves into the respondent's reactions to questions in an unstructured manner. In all in-depth interviews, a guide is essential, enabling the inter-viewer to direct the flow of conversation to relevant subjects. In many cases, the interviewer will be a trained focus group moderator.

Industrial Survey
A marketing research study which focuses upon products and services utilized by businesses and manufacturing firms, conducted among respondents employed in such businesses (as opposed to a consumer survey).

Instrument variation
Differences or changes in measurement instruments (e.g., interviews or observers) that explain differences in measurements.

Intercept Interview
A term used to describe a study conducted in person with respondents who are approached or intercepted in high traffic locations such as grocery stores or shopping malls.

Internal consistency reliability
Ability to produce similar results using different samples to measure a phenomenon during the same time period.

Internal database
Database developed from data within the organization.

Internal validity
The extent to which competing explanations for the experimental results observed can be avoided.

Intersection
Is the event containing all simple events that are in both event A and event B. The concept can be extended to more than two events.

Interval
Taking a given number of units equally selected over the full population of study. The nth number interval is derived by dividing the total number of units by the sample number desired. Also known as nth selection.

Interval estimates
Inferences regarding the likelihood that a population value will fall within a certain range.

Interval scale
Ordinal scale with the additional property that the distance between observations is meaningful. An example would be the temperature or distance.

Interview
The exchange of information between the interviewer and the respondent. A questionnaire is the vehicle used for this exchange. The interviewer records the respondent's responses to a question or series of questions. The exchange can be in person or on the telephone; answers can be recorded on paper or via computer.

Interviewee
See Respondent

Interviewer
The person conducting the interviewing by asking questions.

Interviewer Bias
An influence on answers to questions caused by the presence, attitudes or actions of the person asking the questions.

Interviewer error
Error that results from conscious or unconscious bias in the interviewer's interaction with the respondent or any other error directly contributed to human error during the data collection phase.

Interviewer's instructions
Written, specific directions to the interviewer on how to conduct the interview, complete the paper work, dress code, and any other instructions, information or recomendations that might be useful during their work.

Itemized rating scales
Scales in which the respondent selects an answer from a limited number of ordered categories.

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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.

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K

Key verifying
Having two operators enter the same data to verify that entry is accurate.

Key Word Recording
A method used by interviewers to record answers to open-end questions. Rather than recording the answer verbatim, only key words and phrases are written down, not complete sentences. This technique requires the skill of a well-trained interviewer so that important or meaningful words are not left out.

Keypunch
Keyboard data entry of surveys or other completed reseearch instruments into a database.

Kurtosis
The kurtosis is a measure of peakedness. A negative kurtosis means the distribution is more flat and a positive kurtosis means the distribution is more peaked. A kurtosis of zero approximates a normal or bell-shaped distribution.

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L

Laboratory experiments
Experiments conducted in a controlled setting that were designed to solve a specific problem.

Laddering
A probing technique, used in one-on-ones and focus groups, designed to delve into the real reasons for participants' attitudes and behavior toward the topic. It is generally considered to be an intensive technique. The moderator seeks the reason behind each answer until he or she arrives at a basic human need such as ego or status.

Lelly triads
Also known as repertory grids. used especially by advertising agencies to elicit consumer language for the products in question. Products (or whatever) are written or pictured on cards which are dealt three at a time. The respondent is invited to pick the odd one out and explain why it is odd. The language and key discriminators are noted.

Length of Interview
The actual number of minutes and seconds it takes to ask the questions and record the answers in a survey. This should include the time it takes to taste any products, review concepts, etc. Screening time is shown separately so that accurate completion rates can be calculated.

Lifestyle research
Research that attempts to explain behavior by analyzing people's attitudes, hobbies, activities and opinions. Often associated with psychographic research.

Likert scale
A scale in which the respondent specifies a level of agreement or disagreement with statements that express a favorable or unfavorable attitude toward the concept under study.

Listed sample
A telephone sample which contains only phonebook telephone households.

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.

Logo
A unique symbol, trademark or type style used to represent a company or brand name on packaging, in advertising, in promotional materials or other communications.

Longitudinal study
A long-term survey based on repeated analysis of either the same sample (called a panel study) or new samples (tracking study) chosen at regular intervals.

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Mail Panel
A collection of respondents who have been recruited to participate in surveys conducted through the mail. The organization that has developed a mail panel generally has classification data about the household to allow the client to select a sample of respondents with whom to conduct a survey. Mail Panels can be local or national in scope.

Mail Survey
A survey conducted via mail. Respondents may, or may not, be recruited ahead of time to participate.

Male Head-of-Household
The man most responsible for maintaining the household. May or may not be the primary wage earner.

Mall intercept interviewing
Shoppers are intercepted in public areas of malls and interviewed face-to-face.

Mapping
The process by which a computer generates thematic maps that combine geography information with demographic information or company's sales data or other proprietary data sets.

Margin of Error
The amount of sampling error one could expect to find, due to just chance, above or below the actual figure obtained in the survey results. See also sampling error.

Marginal
A computer-generated frequency count of the number of people giving each answer to all the questions in a questionnaire.

Market
Total of all individuals or organizations that represent potential buyers.

Market Research
A process used to define the size, location, and/or makeup of the market for a product or service.

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.

Market Share
Per cent of market capitalization compared to direct competitors. See also Brand Share.

Market
The geographic area or areas in which a research project takes place. A market may be a region of the country, a state, a county, a city or some portion of a city.

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 Research
A process used by businesses to collect, analyze and interpret information used to make sound business decisions and successfully manage the business.

Marketing concept
The business philosophy that a company's effort should be adapted to the needs and wants of its customers.

Marketing information systems
These systems create rather than simplify manipulated data, presenting data in a form useful to a variety of people within the organization.

Marketing mix
The unique blend of product pricing, promotion, offerings, and distribution designed to meet the needs of a specific group of customers.

Marketing strategy
Guiding the long-run use of the firm's resources based on its existing and projected capabilities and on projected changes in the external environment.

Maximum
The maximum is the maximum value of all the values in the distribution.

Mean
also called the Average, is the most common measure of central tendency. It is equal to the sum of the case values divided by the number of cases.

Mean square error
The square root of the sum of the standard error squared and the bias squared. A measure of the total error to be expected for a sample estimate.

Measure of location
A quantity that locates a particular position in the frequency distribution. An example is the mean, which is a measure of the center of the frequency distribution.

Measurement
Process of assigning numbers or labels to things in accordance with specific rules to represent quantities or qualities of attributes.

Measurement error
Error that results from a variation between the information being sought and the information actually obtained by the measurement process.

Media
This term refers to methods of message communication. Media is the plural of medium. Magazines, newspapers, radio, television and billboards are referred to as advertising media.

Media Research
Research that is centered on issues of media selection and efficiency.

Media Test
Research method that examines the impact of advertising through various media.

Median
The numerical observation that divides the distribution of observations in half. Sometimes referred to as the second quartile. The median, like the mean, is a measure of central tendency. It is the middle case if all the cases are sorted in numeric order. It is also the value that would occur at the 50th percentile.

Methodological log
A journal of detailed and time-sequenced notes on the investigative techniques used during a humanistic inquiry, with special attention to biases or distortions a given technique may have introduced.

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.

Minimum
The minimum is the minimum value of all the values in the distribution.

Mixed groups
A focus group that contains both males and females.

Mobility
Geographic movement involving a change of residence.

Mode
The most frequently occurring measurement. The peak of a frequency curve. The median, like the mean, is a measure of central tendency. It is the middle case if all the cases are sorted in numeric order. It is also the value that would occur at the 50th percentile.

Modeling
The formulation of mathematically-expressed variables to simulate a business decision environment. For example, a model could be formulated using demographics and a company's financial data to select new markets that have the same combination of factors that are present in currently successful markets.

Moderator
Someone who is the leader of a focus group discussion, in-depth interview, or other meeting. Often works from pre-determined outline of subjects to be covered.

Moderator guide
The outline that the moderator uses to lead the discussion in the focus group session. It is developed by the moderator on the basis of the briefings and identifies the topics that will be covered in a focus group session, and the approximate emphasis that will be given to each.

Monadic Evaluation
A study or part of a study in which the respondent evaluates only one stimulus on its own merits, rather than comparing it to other test stimuli. The stimulus can be a product, concept, advertisement, etc.

Monitoring
A quality control measure which may involve observing, auditing and checking the interviewing for the purposes of ensuring required procedures are followed and to give feedback and instruction to the interviewers. Monitoring is one means of validating or giving assurance that data is collected from qualified respondents who are interviewed under prescribed conditions.

Mortality
Loss of test units or subjects during the course of an experiment. The problem is that those lost may be systematically different from those who stay.

Multicollinearity
A problem that arises when at least one of the independent variables in a linear combination is in effect always a weighted sum of the values of the other independent variables. When this occurs, we are unable to separate its influence on the dependent variable from that of the others.

Multidimensional scaling
Procedures designed to measure several dimensions of a concept or object. Similar to factor analysis but mathematically purer. Factor analysis uses regular ordinal arithmetic, e.g., 2+2 = 4, whereas MDS requires numbers just to increase monotonically, e.g., 2+2 > 2. Provides perceptual maps and works from rankings (A>B). See also perceptual MAPPing.

Multiple Choice Questions
Respondents are offered a check list of responses to a question an are asked to choose one or more that seem appropriate. Commonly referred to as closed-end questions in marketing and opinion research.

Multiple regression analysis
Statistical procedure that studies multiple independent variables simultaneously to identify a pattern or patterns.

Multivariate analysis
Any statistical procedure that simultaneously analyzes several measurements.

Mutually exclusive
Events are said to be mutually exclusive if they have no intersection.

Mystery Shopper
A person sent into a business location to act in the role of a customer to evaluate business and/or employee performance. A type of observational research.

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Nominal grouping session
Qualitative research method in which consumers, brought together in small groups, independently generate ideas about a subject and hence discuss the ideas.

Nominal scale
Identifies categories of the variable. Categories are called classes or levels. Examples: male/female, user/nonuser.

Noncomparative
A judgment made without reference to another object, concept, or person.

Nonprobability sample
Subset of a population in which little or no attempt is made to ensure a representative cross section.

Non-random
Occurrences which do not have an equal probability of occurring; not mathematically predictable on the basis of the classical theory of probability.

Nonresponse bias
Error that results from a systematic difference between those who do and do not respond to the measurement instrument.

Normal distribution
A continuous distribution that is bell shaped and symmetrical about the mean.

No-show
A focus group participant who agrees to come to a session and is confirmed the same day, but nonetheless does not come to the group. Facilities compensate for no-shows by overrecruiting for groups by two or three people.

Nth selection
Statistical means of taking a given number of names or units equally selected over the full population of study. The nth number interval is derived by dividing the total number of units by the sample number desired. Also known as interval.

Null hypothesis
The statement being tested in a test of significance.

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Objectives
The information to be developed from a study to serve the project's purpose.

Observation
The value that the variable assumes for a single unit of the sample.

Observation room
The room from which client personnel observe and listen to focus group proceedings through a one-way mirror. Also called the back room or viewing room.

Observational Research
A means of collecting data through watching the situation of interest and recording behaviors, pertinent facts or actions.

OCR (optical character recognition)
Automatic computer input process whereby the computer scanner is able to read printed characters and convert them to electronic data.

Omnibus Survey
A survey which examines a number of unrelated topics or issues. This may be a shared expense study in which a number of different clients participate. Generally clients only receive results from their proprietary questions and general demographic questions.

One-on-One Interview (1-on-1)
An interview conducted by an interviewer with one respondent at a time.

One-way mirror
A special mirror that permits observers to watch the proceedings in the focus group without the participants being able to see the observers. Virtually all focus groups are conducted in a room separated from an observation area by a one-way mirror.

Open observation
The process of monitoring people who know they are being watched.

Open-ended question
A question that has no prelisted answers which requires the respondent to answer is his or her own words.

Order Bias
The problem which occurs when the sequence of questions or answers on a questionnaire tends to influence respondents to answer in a certain manner.

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.

Overrecruit
Extra people who are recruited for a focus group or other study to compensate for the inevitable no-shows.

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Package Test
A test that measures consumer reactions to a package, label, etc. or to gauge reactions to different packaging approaches.

Paired Comparison Evaluation
A study or part of a study in which the respondent com-pares two or more test stimuli (i.e., products, concepts, labels, etc.) according to some criterion, such as preference. 

Panel
A survey in which the same respondents are interviewed several times over an extended period. Also called longitudinal analysis.

Panel Research
A general term used to describe a pre-selected group of homogeneous people used more than once over a period of time to collect information.

PAPI (paper and pencil interviewing)
Survey in which the respondent fills out a traditional paper questionnaire. usually administered by interviewer.

Parameter
Numerical summary measure of a population distribution.

Parent (underlying) distribution
The distribution of the measurements in the original population.

Part worths
Estimates of the value or utility that people associate with different levels of product/service attributes.

Participant
A person included in a focus group, survey or study. Also called respondent, unit, subject, experimental unit or unit of analysis.

Pearson's correlation coefficient
The most common measure of the strength of the association between variables.

Penetration analysis
Study of the market share held by a given firm or product within various universes by classification or other demographic characteristics.

Percentile
A value on the scale of 100 that indicates the percent of a distribution that is equal to or below it.

Perceptual MAPPing Mathematical Analysis of Perception and Preference.
A multivariate technique designed to represent consumers' product perceptions and preferences as visual representations or points on a map or graph. Also called multidimensional scaling or MAPPing.

Photo sort
The respondent sorts photos of different types of people, identifying those photos that respondent feels would use the specific product or service.

Physical control
Holding the value or level of extraneous variables constant throughout the course of an experiment.

Pilot Study
See Pre-Test.

Placement interview
An interview in which a respondent is recruited and given the product to use in a product test.

Point-of-Purchase (P.O.P.)
The physical location where product is actually purchased. This term may be used to refer to materials used at the point of purchase to promote or call attention to a product or sale (P.O.P. Materials). It may also refer to conducting research at the point of purchase to obtain the purchasers top of mind reaction to the product just purchased.

Point-of-Sale (P.O.S.)
See Point-of-Purchase

Political Studies
Used by government agencies, officials, candidates and political parties to determine the opinion of the electorates.

Poll
See Survey

Population
The collection of all objects that are of interest to the statistician. The elements of a population may be called units or subjects. Also known as the universe.

Population distribution
A frequency distribution of all the elements of a population.

Population specification error
Error that results from an incorrect definition of the universe (or population) from which the sample is chosen.

Positioning
Location of a brand or product in consumers' minds relative to competitive products.

Precision (lack of)
If, in repeated sampling, the values obtained tend to be widely scattered or spread out (the results obtained from one sample usually cannot be duplicated with another sample) the sample has a lack of precision. Precise samples have low standard errors. Increasing the sample size often increases the precision.

Predictive function
Specification of how to use the descriptive and diagnostic research to predict the results of a planned marketing decision.

Predictive validity
The degree to which the future level of criterion can be forecast by a current measurement scale.

Predictor variables
The variables that explain or predict the differences in dependent variables. Examples: demographics, attitudes. Also called independent variables or factor.

Pre-experimental design
A design that offers little or no control over extraneous factors.

Pre-Recruit
Consumers or business professionals are contacted either by telephone, mail or in person and invited to participate in a study scheduled for a future date and time, if qualified. People who agree and are eligible are often compensated for their participation in the interview.

Pre-recruited central-location test
A survey conducted at a conveniently located site to which respondents - who have been previously contacted and qualified - come to be interviewed.

Pre-Test
A phrase used to describe two different activities. ¨Pre-test is used most often to describe a procedure where the design or questionnaire itself is tested on a small scale be-fore it is put to use in a full-scale study. It is conducted to assure that the questionnaire and the actual study are de-signed properly to elicit the desired information. Pre-test is also a term used by many advertising agencies to describe a procedure where people are asked what they think of certain advertising headlines and/or advertising before they appear in magazines or on TV.

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.

Probability distribution
A table or function that lists all possible values of a discrete random variable and their associated probabilities.

Probability of a simple event
A number between zero and one that measures the likelihood that will occur when the experiment is performed. The probability of all simple events in a sample must sum to one.

Probability of an event
The sum of the probabilities of the simple events which make up the event.

Probability sample
A sample in which every unit has an equal (nonzero) and known probability of being selected. Sometimes called a random sample.

Probing
A follow-up technique for getting complete responses to open-ended questions by asking. Also see clarifying.

Processing error
Error that results from incorrect transfer of information from the data collection instrument to the computer database.

Product Category
The class of products to which a brand belongs, i.e., shampoo is a product category.

Product concept testing
The testing of new product ideas before they have been turned into prototypes.

Product Placement Tests
Can refer to two types of tests. ¨Products are placed with consumers who try the product and give their opinion about the product. Products are placed on retail shelves to observe the rate of consumer sale.

Product positioning research
Research used to determine how competitive brands are perceived relative to each other on key dimensions.

Product pricing research
Research used to measure consumer sensitivity to different prices for a product.

Product prototype tests
Tests conducted to obtain the reactions of targeted customers to early working versions of new products.

Professional respondent
A participant who attends many sessions by volunteering for the recruitment lists of different facilities. Most moderators seek to eliminate professional respondents from groups, since they do not generally respond in the same objective way that fresh respondents.

Programmatic research
Research done to develop marketing options through market segmentation, market opportunity analysis, or consumer attitude and product usage studies.

Project
A specific marketing research or opinion research study with its own unique set of specifications.

Projectability
The capability of research results to be extrapolated to the larger universe, on the assumption that the sample is representative of the total.

Projective
A class of moderation techniques used to stimulate discussion among participants. These techniques force the participants to think about the topic in a more subjective or creative way than they might in a regular discussion. Projectives include sentence completion, expressive drawing, anthropomorphization and associations.

Projective Test Technique
A method of getting the respondent to project himself into role-playing. Used in qualitative research.

Prototype
A model or mock-up of a proposed product or package.

Psychographics
A means of grouping people based on lifestyle and attitude characteristics, rather than demographic.

Purchase Intention Measurement
A measure of the respondent's attitude toward buying a product or service.

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Q-sorting
A sophisticated form of rank ordering using card sorts.

Q-spread
The distance between the first and third sample quartiles.

Qualified Refusal
This occurs once all qualifying questions have been asked. The respondent is eligible for the test, but for some reason, refuses or is unable to complete the study.

Qualified Respondent
See Eligible Respondent

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 Interview
See In-depth Interview

Qualitative Research
Research that yields an in-depth understanding about an issue. Qualitative research typically focuses on a small number of people. Since these people are interviewed in-depth, interviews tend to be longer and are often unstructured. An outline of discussion points, rather than a questionnaire, is often used. This type of research also tends to be conducted in person, either in focus groups or one-on-one interviews.

Qualitative variable
A variable whose values are classifications or categories and are not subject to quantitative interpretation. Examples include sex, occupation, marital status, etc.

Quantitative Research
Research used to statistically estimate the viewpoints of a population providing estimates of percentages or averages. This research usually employs larger samples and takes less of the respondent's time. Telephone surveys, mail surveys, intercept surveys, central location studies, in-home use studies, door-to-door studies are all used in qua-ntitative research.

Quantitative variable
A variable whose values are numerical in nature. Examples include weight, age, income, etc. Quantitative variables are further classified as being either discrete or continuous.

Quartiles
The division of the observation distribution into quarters (in the same way the median divides the distribution in half).

Quasi-experiments
Studies in which the researcher lacks complete control over the scheduling of treatment or must assign respondents to treatment in a non-random manner.

Questionnaire
The printed or computer survey or instrument used to ask specific questions. Questions are to be asked exactly the same way by all interviewers on a study.

Quota
The total number of interviews to be completed by a data collection company. Quotas may also be defined by market, by product, by interviewer, by rotation, etc.

Quota sample
A sampling procedure that includes specified numbers of respondents having characteristics known or believed to affect the subject being researched. Selection is by nonprobability means. A moderator might set a quota of having half the group be users of Brand X, or one-fourth be aware of Product Y.

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Random
Being or relating to a set or element in which each set or element has an equal (non-zero) probability of occurring.

Random Sampling
Given a specified sampling procedure, all consumers within the universe have an equal chance for respondent selection.

Random sampling
A sample in which each unit has an equal and independent chance of selection. Also known as probability sample.

Random variable
A variable whose value is determined by the outcome of an experiment in which the outcome is subject to chance. For example heads or tails is a random variable for a coin toss.

Randomization
The random assignment of subjects or treatment conditions to ensure equal representation of subject characteristics in all groups.

Range
The highest value for a variable minus the lowest value for that variable.

Ranking/Rank Order
A procedure requiring the respondent to order a set of items with respect to some designated property of interest such as first, second, third, etc., on overall preference or a specific product characteristic. Note: Each rank level may only be used once by a single respondent.

Rapport
The level of cooperation achieved between the interviewer and the respondent.

Rating
A procedure used to evaluate the concept, product, advertisement, etc. being tested. It requires each respondent to select one response from a scale to indicate the degree of his/her opinion.

Rating Scale
See Scales.

Ratio
A measure that expresses the relative size of two numbers.

Ratio 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. The ratio scale is for variables that have a uniquely defined zero. Examples include weight, height, age, etc.

Recall Measurement:
A respondent recounting what he/she remembers about something they have read, heard or seen without the benefit of stimuli. The method is used in measuring brand and advertising awareness.

Recommendations
The section of the final report that suggests the next action steps a client could take, based on the conclusions of the research.

Recruitment
To invite respondents who meet specific eligibility criteria to take part in a research project. Recruiting can be conducted in person, on the telephone, or by mail.

Refusal Rate
The percentage of people who refuse to participate in a particular study.

Refusals
Respondents who will not participate in an interview. Re-fusals are tracked at various points within a survey, i.e., initial refusal, qualified refusal, etc.

Regression analysis
A multivariate technique that relates a dependent variable to one or more independent variables.

Regression coefficients
Values that indicate the effect of the individual independent variables on the dependent variable.

Reliability
Measures that are consistent from one administration to the next.

Repeat rate
The proportion of first-time users of a product who purchase the product at least a second time.

Representative sample
A sample in which each unit has an equal and independent chance of selection. Also known as probability sample or random sampling.

Rescreening
A brief interview conducted with potential participants when they arrive at a facility to ensure that they really qualify for the session. Rescreening normally uses some of the questions that were originally asked when the participants were originally recruited.

Research design
The plan to be followed to answer the research objectives; the structure or framework to solve a specific problem.

Residual error
What still cannot be explained, after estimating the coefficients of the independent variables. Usually blamed on measurement or omissions.

Respondent
The individual from which data are collected. Also called participant, unit, unit of analysis, subject or experimental unit.

Response bias
Error that results from the tendency of people to answer a question falsely, through deliberate misrepresentation or unconscious falsification.

Role Playing
A term meaning that a person can pretend he/she is some-one other than who he/she is to influence response. This technique is sometimes used by moderators while conduct-ing qualitative interviews. Most often it refers to the procedure used by interviewers to prepare for conducting an interview.

Rotation Procedures
The manner in which various questions are asked or exhibits/products are shown in different order for every interview, as instructed. This process eliminates the possibility of order bias that could develop if all questions were asked and exhibits shown in exactly the same order for every interview conducted on a particular study.

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Sample
The statistical selection of some respondents to represent the opinions of many. The answers of the interviewed respondents (SAMPLE) are used to predict the opinions of the larger number of persons they represent.

Sample distribution
A frequency distribution of all the elements of an individual sample.

Sample Size
The number of interviews to be completed in a study.

Sampling
The method of selecting a specified portion, called a sample, from a population, from which information concerning the whole can be inferred.

Sampling distribution of the proportion
A frequency distribution of the proportions of many samples drawn from a particular population. It is normally distributed.

Sampling distribution of the sample means
A frequency distribution of the means of many samples drawn from a particular population. It is normally distributed.

Sampling distribution of the sample statistic
The probability distribution associated with the various values that the statistic could assume in repeated sampling.

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 interval
Taking a given number of units equally selected over the full population of study. The nth number interval is derived by dividing the total number of units by the sample number desired. Also known as nth selection or interval.

Sampling unit
The elements available for selection at during the sampling process.

Scaled-response questions
Multiple choice questions in which the choices are designed to capture the intensity of the respondent's answer.

Scales
A measurement device which allows a respondent to report the degree of his/her opinion. Scales are usually in the form of statements or numbers. Pictures may be used in face-to-face interviews.

Screener
Questionnair used to screen for appropriate respondents.

Screening
The procedure which involves interviewers asking specified questions to determine if respondents are eligible or qualified for a particular study. Done before the interview or focus group.

Secondary data
Data that has been previously gathered.

Secondary research
Analyzing information from previously conducted research projects.

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.

Selection error
Error that results from following incomplete or improper sampling procedures.

Selective perception
The ability of a listener or reader to filter out some information for conscious or subconscious reasons.

Selective research
Research to choose among several viable alternatives identified by programmatic research.

Self-Administered
An approach in which the information desired is recorded by the respondent with or without the aid of an interviewer.

Semantic differential
A method of examining the strengths and weaknesses of a product or company versus the competition by having respondents rank it between dichotomous pairs of words or phrases that could be used to describe it; the mean of the responses is then plotted in a profile or image.

Sentence and story completion
Tests in which the respondent completes sentences or stories in their own words. The purpose of this technique is to enable participants to delve into certain areas that they may otherwise find difficult to discuss.

Sentence Completion

Sequential testing
A testing procedure in which a respondent tries one product, evaluates it, then tries and evaluates a second product.

Sex ratio
The number of males per 100 females in a population.

Shopper patterns
Drawings that record footsteps of a shopper through a store.

Show Cards
See Exhibit Cards.

SIC (standard industrial classification)
Classification (in a four-digit code) of business type as defined by the Industry Canada and NAFTA member countries. Pseudo SICs are SIC modifications which add a fifth or sixth character to allow for greater specificity.

Significant difference
In mathematical terms, difference between tests of two or more variables. The significance difference varies with the confidence level desired.

Simulated sales test
A procedure designed to estimate a product's sales potential by simulating trial and use conditions of the marketplace.

Simulated test market (STM)
Alternative to traditional test market; survey data and mathematical models are used to simulate test market results at a much lower cost.

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.

Skewed
A distribution whose frequency curve has one tail longer than the other - not symmetrical about its mean. If the left tail is longer than the right, it is called skewed left.

Skewness
The skewness measures the degree to which the sample approximates a normal, bell-shaped curve. If the value is zero, the sample is symmetrical about the mean. If the value is positive, the sample values are clustered more to the left. Conversely, if the value is negative, the sample values are clustered more to the right.

Skip Patterns
Skip patterns involve the process of skipping particular questions depending on how the respondent answers one or more previous question(s).

Snowball samples
Samples in which selection of additional respondents is based on referrals from the initial respondents.

Social indicator
A numerical measure of the quality of life.

Spearman rank-order correlation
Correlation analysis technique for use with ordinal data.

Specifications
Details furnished by the client outlining the project. Generally, the specifications will include start date, deadline, respondent qualifications, incidence, number of surveys to be completed, interview length, etc.

Split-half technique
Method of assessing the reliability of a scale by dividing into two the total set of measurement items and correlating the results.

Spurious association
Another variable or variables may cause changes in the dependent variable.

Stability
Lack of change in results from test to retest.

Standard deviation
The standard deviation is the most widely accepted measure of the dispersion about the mean for the sample. This statistic helps measure how much the values cluster around the mean. The standard deviation is often denoted by the symbol s and is the square root of the variance. The advantage of using the standard deviation over the variance is that taking the square root of the variance puts the statistic back into the original units.

Standard error
The standard error is a measure that helps reveal the degree of difference between the sample mean and the population mean. The Central Limit Theory says that in repeated sampling of n observations from the population, the distribution of the sample means are approximately bell-shaped or normally distributed. This means that the larger the sample size the better the approximation to the mean.

Standard normal distribution
A normal distribution with a mean of zero and a standard deviation of one.

Stapel scale
A scale, ranging from +5 to -5, that requires the respondent to rate how close and in what direction a descriptor adjective fits a given concept.

Statistical control
Adjusting for the effects of confounded variables by statistically adjusting the value of the dependent variable for each treatment condition.

Statistical inference
Drawing conclusions about populations based on a sample.

Statistics
The science of collecting data, organizing or describing it, and ultimately drawing conclusions from it.

Stimulus/Stimuli
See Exhibit/Exhibit Cards

Strata
Segments of the population.

Stratified random sample
Probability samples that force sample to be more representative of the population. It is obtained by dividing the population into groups called strata, then simple random samples are taken from each of the strata.

Structured observation
A study in which the observer fills out a questionnaire form or counts the number of times an activity occurs.

Structured Question
See Closed-End Question

Stub
The responses to the question being tabulated, which run vertically down the left side of a computer table.

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.

Sum of squares due to regression
The variation explained by the regression.

Surrogate information error
Error that results from a discrepancy between the information needed to solve a problem and that sought by the researcher.

Survey
A structured data collection instrument, that can be self administered or involve trained interviewwing staff. Surveys or polls are basis of most quantitative research.

Syndicated Research
A single research study conducted by a research company with its results available, for sale, to multiple client companies.

Systemic error
Error that results from the research design or execution.

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T

Tab/Tabulate
The process of counting the various responses to each question asked in a survey.

Tabulation (Tab Report)
Tables which show the results of each question asked in the survey and which are used for analyzing the data.

Tally Sheet
A form used by each interviewer on a job to track the result of each contact made on a study; whether it be by phone or in person. This form may also be referred to as a Call Record Sheet, Contact Record, a Dialing Record, or a Tick Sheet.

Target Audience
See Sample

Target population
The population which is being studied.

Taste Test
Respondents evaluate the taste of a product, either absolutely or compared to something else. Generally, taste tests are conducted at a central location, but, if the product(s) can be shipped or carried home, the test can be conducted in the respondent's home.

T-distribution
Occurrence often seen with small samples which results in a distribution similar to the normal distribution but not as peaked.

Telephone focus groups
A qualitative research methodology in which seven to 10 people are connected in a telephone conference call and a trained moderator leads them through a discussion about a particular topic. Basically a focus group that is conducted via conference calling.

Telephone Survey Respondents
People interviewed via the telephone. The telephone interview is normally conducted from a central telephone facility.

Temporal sequence
Appropriate causal order of events.

Temporary population
Temporary residents of an area such as tourists, commuters, snowbirds, etc.

Terminate
When an interview is stopped before completion. This may occur for one of three reasons: 1) the respondent gives a nonqualifying response and the interviewer is instructed to terminate the interview; 2) the interviewer decides to terminate the interview because of a language problem or disability on the part of the respondent; or 3) the respondent refuses to complete the entire survey.

Test market Trial
A market for a new product or service offer.

Test Product
The product being researched

Test statistic
A statistic, calculated from the sample data which is used to test the hypothesis.

Testing effect
An effect that is a byproduct of the research process and not the experimental variable.

Test-retest reliability
The ability of the same instrument to produce consistent results when used a second time under conditions as nearly the same as possible.

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.

Thematic maps
Computer-generated maps that combine geography with demographic data and company information on sales, etc.

Third-person techniques
Ways of learning respondents' feelings by asking them to answer in the third party; your neighbor, most people.

Time series analysis
Any set of data recorded in time intervals. Also called exponential smoothing.

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.

Topline
A preliminary report showing the responses (frequencies and/or percentages) to all or a portion of the questionnaire.

Top-of-Mind Awareness
A measure of a respondent's first mention to questions such as unaided brand awareness, unaided advertising awareness, unaided brands purchased.

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 or people used to measure vehicular or human flow over a particular area, entrance or intersection.

Treatment
The independent variable that is manipulated in the experiment.

Triad
A qualitative research methodology in which a moderator works with three respondents. Some researchers maintain that the limited number of participants in a triad permits the moderator to get more information from them than is possible in a minigroup of full group.

Trial rate
Measures the proportion of people who buy a product at least once.

Triangular Product Test
A blind test of two similar products to determine the degree to which consumers can differentiate between them. In actual practice, the respondent is permitted to try three products; two are identical, one is different. The task is to correctly identify the product that is different.

Trimmed mean
Obtained by trimming a percent of the high and low ends of a distribution and finding the mean of the remaining distribution.

True experimental design
Research using an experimental group and a control group, and assignment of test units to both groups is randomized.

T-test Hypothesis
Test about a single mean if the sample is too small (less than 30) to use the Z-test.

Two-way focus groups
A target focus group observes another focus group, then discusses what it learned through observing.

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U

Unaided Recall/Awareness
A respondent's recall of a brand name, commercial, etc. without any cues or prompts.

Unbiased Questions
Questions that are formulated in such a way that they do not influence the respondents or provide information which may color the opinions of the respondents.

Unbiased samples
Samples obtained from sample designs in which there is no bias and all sampling error comes from random sources.

Unidimensional scaling
Procedures designed to measure only one attribute of a respondent or object.

Union
The event containing all simple events for both event A and event B. The concept of union can be extended to more than two events.

Unipolar
An ordinal scale with one positive end and one negative end.

Univariate data set
A data set in which one measurement (variable) has been made on each respondent.

Unstructured segmentation
Process of segmenting a market using data and analysis when no prior ideas are held about the number of segments, what they are, or how and why they are different.

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V

Validation
The process of ascertaining and recontacting respondents to confirm that interviews were conducted correctly.

Validity
Whether what we tried to measure was actually measured.

Vancouver, BC
Biggest city of the provice of Britich Columbia.

Variability
Differences in the measurement of variables.

Variable
Any characteristic that can be measured on each unit of the population.

Variance
The measure of the variability of the variable. The statistical measure of how similar a population is in a characteristic being studied. It is the average squared distance of all measurements from the mean.

Verbatim
Word-for-word. Questions on the survey are asked exactly as written and responses to a question are recorded exactly as the respondent says them, in the first person, without any omissions, abbreviations or interpretations.

Video focus groups
Focus groups conducted using satellite video technology in which participants are located in different places, normally in different countries. Also called global focus groups.

Viewing room
The room from which client personnel observe and listen to focus group proceedings through a one-way mirror. Also called the observation room or back room.

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W

Weighting
Assigning a numerical coefficient to an item to express its relative importance in a frequency distribution.

Word Association
A research technique where the respondent is given one word or a name and asked to respond with whatever other words come to mind. This technique is sometimes used as a part of the evaluation of new product names.

Write-down
The process of having participants write down their views on a topic during a focus group. Moderators use write-downs to get participants to commit to their point of view before other participants can influence them.

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Z

ZIP code demographics
The demographic characteristics of a population living in a particular ZIP (US) or postal code (Canada).

Z-test
Hypothesis test about a single mean if the sample is large enough and drawn from a normal population. A small sample (30 or less) uses a T-test.

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