is a means of segmenting a population of interest using life-cycle stage, income and occupation variables. The logic behind this segmentation systems is that as people pass through life, their aspirations and behavior patterns (including consumption of goods and services) also change.

Sales Waves are respondent contacts that take place immediately upon the conclusion of a Marketing Research interview or in successive waves thereafter.

Salience refers to the degree to which a topic or event resonates with a prospective respondent or sample member.

is a sub-group of the population of interest that has been selected for study.

is the efficiency and the effectiveness of the sampling approach at reaching the units specified in the research brief.

is a description of the ideal (or the intended) sample for a research project.

Sample Distribution measures the frequency with which the number of subjects that make up the sample is actually drawn for a given research study.

The description of the characteristics that define a particular population from which a sample is taken.

occurs in experiments when a bias is introduced into the way in which experimental units are assigned to groups.

is the number of sample units to be included in the sample.

A sample space is a list of all possible outcomes for an experiment.

an individual member of the sample.

Sampling is a process used in statistical analysis in which a predetermined number of observations are taken from a larger population.

A normally distributed graph showing combined proportion frequencies from many samples within a single population.

A normally distributed graph showing combined mean frequencies from many samples within a single population.

A probability distribution displaying probabilities of all possible variables that might occur with repeated sampling.

is the error in a survey caused by using a sample to estimate the value of a parameter in the population.

A sampling fraction simply indicates the overall fraction of population units that ended up in the sample, regardless of how they came to be selected. Some surveys will use different sampling fractions for different parts of the population (strata).

is a list of the population of interest that is used to draw the sample in a survey, eg a telephone directory or a list of members of a profession.

is a type of non-sampling error in a survey caused by a sampling frame containing either more or less of a particular type of potential respondent, compared with the population of interest.

are a set of instructions given to interviewers concerning the selection of participants for a research project. These instructions must be followed exactly to ensure accurate respondent selection.

is the size of the step between selected units in systematic sampling.

 A sampling plan is a term widely used in research studies that provide an outline on the basis of which research is conducted. It tells which category is to be surveyed, what should be the sample size and how the respondents should be chosen out of the population.

A Sampling unit is one of the units selected for the purpose of sampling. Each unit being regarded as individual and indivisible when the selection is made.

It is when sample units can be included more than once in the sample.

is when sample units cannot be included more than once in the sample.

is a survey where as many members as possible of a population of interest are contacted.

are measurement devices that allow respondents to report the degree of their opinions. Scales are usually in the form of statements or numbers. Pictures may also be used - see pictorial scale.

is the extent to which a scale is valid and reliable, ie free from bias and random error.

is the degree to which a scale is free from random error and can reproduce consistent results.

is the manipulation of scale variables to ensure comparability with other scales and enable comparisons to be made. The most frequently used scale transformation procedure is standardisation.

is whether a scale measures what it is intended to measure. A scale may be biased by the way in which a question is worded and therefore the results it produces are not valid.

Scaled-response questions are questions that have a predefined answer list with options that are incrementally related to each other with the purpose of measuring the intensity to which a respondent feels toward or about something.

A technique used for participants to measure an object based on set characteristics. Scales are close-ended questions that require one of the offered responses as the respondent’s answer.

is the data recorded by bar-code scanners.

is a type of consumer panel where participants use a bar-code scanner to record purchases.

is a plot of the values of two variables for all the cases or observations. Score is a numerical value assigned to a response or an observation.

A plot of the values of two variables for all the cases or observations.

A numerical value assigned to a response or an observation.

A screener is a series of qualifying questions to determine if the respondent fits specific criteria to participate in a research study. Screeners are conducted over the phone and online.

is the procedure of asking specific questions to determine whether respondents are eligible to participate in a particular research study. This is done at the very beginning of an interview.

are the questions at the beginning of an interview or questionnaire to ensure that a potential respondent is eligible for the survey

Respondents who do not meet the demographic or usage criteria to permit them to take part in a survey.

are data that have already been collected and published for another research project (other than the one at hand). There are two types of secondary data: internal and external secondary data.

Secondary research is a type of research that has already been compiled, gathered, organized and published by others. It includes reports and studies by government agencies, trade associations or other businesses in your industry.

Geographic areas represented by the first three digits of a zip code.

Security or 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 products (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.

Security screening is one of the most important concerns for security at public places such as airports, railway stations and others. It is typically used to detect unlawful objects including metal objects, weapons, liquor products and others.

is a group of people who share one or more common characteristics, lumped together for marketing purposes.

is the process of dividing markets into groups of consumers who are similar to each other, but different to the consumers in other groups.

Procedure used to distinguish which records to investigate on means of targeted characteristics from a population.

is a type of non-sampling error where the sample units are selected for treatment in a particular way that produces a different profile to the population. Selection bias can be introduced by researchers and/or by respondents (putting themselves into groups to which they aspire to belong, but they do not currently belong).

An error that occurs in sampling when the researcher is pursuing sampling procedures that are either improper or incomplete.

Selective perception is the process by which individuals perceive what they want to hear in a message while ignoring opposing viewpoints.

Selective research is being done to test various decision alternatives such as new product testing, advertising testing, pre-test marketing, and test marketing.

is where a respondent completes a survey without the assistance or involvement of a researcher, eg a self-completion questionnaire sent through the mail.

is a survey that is designed to be completed by the respondent without the assistance of an interviewer.

A self-administered questionnaire (SAQ) refers to a questionnaire that has been designed specifically to be completed by a respondent without intervention of the researchers (e.g. an interviewer) collecting the data.

is where the true answer to a question does not reflect favourably on the respondent or it contravenes a social group norm. In order to avoid bias in the data, one should try to avoid putting respondents in self-effacing situations if possible.

is a type of non-sampling error that occurs when respondents who chose to participate in some research are systematically different to the intended sample. This type of bias is caused by some types of respondent replying to a survey invitation more than others.

A semantic differential scale is a survey or questionnaire rating scale that asks people to rate a product, company, brand, or any 'entity' within the frames of a multi-point rating option.

is a type of categorical, non-comparative scale with two opposing adjectives separated by a sequence of unlabelled categories, eg Good 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Poor.

An interview or questionnaire is semi-structured when many or all of the questions are open-ended, allowing the interviewer to clarify and probe the answers given by respondents.

It is the theory of signs and symbols in language and the meanings they convey. In research it is used to identify and evaluate the true meaning behind consumers' linguistic responses, to decode their cultural frames of reference and behaviours.

is the extent to which a research technique can identify differences between sub-groups of participants.

is a type of focus group where the same participants are convened several times over a period of time. The subsequent discussions may or may not be on the same subject.

is an examination of some or all aspects of products that are perceived by the five senses.

A technique used to stimulate participants where the researcher begins a sentence or story and has the respondent finish the thought in their own words. This allows creativity to flow in the mind of the participant in ways that might not have surfaced on their own.

is a projective technique where participants are asked to complete a number of incomplete sentences that are provided by the researcher.

Sequence bias is defined as prejudice or favor shown to a thing, person, or group in market research due to it's particular order in a list.

two or more products or ideas are each evaluated on their own, one after the other. The sequence is usually rotated to minimise order bias (ie respondents favouring an object or idea because of its position in a list).

is where the sample units are drawn one by one or in groups and the results of the drawing at any stage decide whether sampling is to continue.

respondents see two or more concepts in an isolated environment. The concepts are presented in a random order to avoid order bias. Each concept is followed by the same series of questions to determine each of the concepts' in-depth insights.

A sex ratio is simply how many men there are in a group or community, compared with how many women there are.

is the extent to which a particular brand will be thought of in relation to a specific product category.

is the percentage of all promotion in a specific product category that is accounted for by a particular brand.

The ability to study a particular product and have information available for the product such as how many stores carry it, the number of facings, special displays, and the prices associated with the particular product.

An observed mapping that establishes the patterns used by shopper’s footsteps within a store.

Everyone receives the short form questions. This means more data are collected, but without imposing a burden on the whole population.

are a type of prompt material in the form of cards with images that are shown to participants in research studies.

Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Codes were developed by the federal government to classify US businesses by their type of activity.

sigmoid or s-curve as a metaphor for describing the dynamics of change. We first encountered the s-curve as a description of a possible growth trajectory whereby populations become established, begin to flourish and the numbers increase rapidly until they reach some limit.

Records completed at the end of a study so that a facility has an accurate account of which respondents participated so that the facility keeps track of how they need to compensate the individuals.

is the maximum probability of rejecting a true null hypothesis (or committing a type I error) and it is equal to one minus the confidence level.

is an analysis of sample data to determine whether the data supports a hypothesis about the population from which it was drawn.

is simple and straightforward, defined as: "the probability that a measured difference between two statistics is the result of a real difference in the tested variations and not the result of chance.

Simple correlation is a measure used to determine the strength and the direction of the relationship between two variables, X and Y. A simple correlation coefficient can range from –1 to 1.

is a type of probability sample where all units in a population of interest have an equal, known and non-zero chance of being selected.

A setup used to test the success of a product’s sales, potential through trial and use, in an artificial market setting that imitates the true conditions of the marketplace.

is a type of laboratory experiment that aims to imitate real life, where respondents are selected, interviewed and then observed making or discussing their purchases. Simulated test markets can lead to mathematical models used to forecast factors such as awareness, trial, sales volumes, impact on other products etc.

is a model composed of mathematical and logical relationships designed to represent an actual system and indicate how the real system would react in various circumstances.

is a type of research design where one sample is drawn from the population of interest only once.

is one that asks respondents for only one answer.

A question that asks respondents for only one answer.

is data on a variety of behavioural habits from consumers in the same households, such as TV watching, reading and shopping habits.

A lack of research so that results are dependent on a single statistic.

Assessing a geographical location by the demographic and economic characteristics that it contains, as a process of determining whether the area yields a market that will cater to the offered good or service.

is part of the marketing planning process that deals with understanding the environment and the market, (by identifying opportunities and threats) and assessing a firm's competitive position (by identifying its strengths and weaknesses).

In a set of data,If the curve is shifted to the left or to the right, it is said to be skewed.

refers to the symmetry of a distribution. A skewed distribution is one where the mean, the median and the mode have different values, whereas in a symmetrical distribution they all have the same value.

is a question used to guide an interviewer through a survey to different questions (ie skipping some questions), depending on the answers given.

is a type of pictorial scale that consists of a balanced series of facial expressions that are often used in children’s research to obtain satisfaction ratings

is the process of removing fluctuations in an ordered series of data.

Snowball sampling or chain-referral sampling is defined as a non-probability sampling technique in which the samples have traits that are rare to find.

is a type of non-probability sampling where initial respondents are selected at random and subsequent respondents are then selected by referrals or information from the earlier respondents.

A method of dividing a population of interest into groups usually based on income and occupation of the head of household, although other variables can also be used.

is the tendency for respondents to give answers that are socially desirable or acceptable, that may not be accurate.

Social Grade is the 'common currency' social classification (the 'ABC1' system) used by the advertising industry and employed throughout marketing, advertising and market research.

are expected overt modes of behaviour that constitute culturally acceptable ways of behaving in specific situations. Participants in market research projects may well bias their responses in order to conform to expected behaviour.

are statistics that describe social rather than economic variables (eg birth rate, life expectancy at birth and doctors per thousand of the population).

Social indicators are statistical time series that are "used to monitor the social system, helping to identify changes and to guide intervention to alter the course of social change".

are a method of dividing a population of interest into groups usually based on income and occupation of the head of household, although other variables can also be used. The ESOMAR social grades (A, B, C1, C2, D, E1, E2 & E3) are based on the terminal education age and occupation of the main income earner.

is information that is based on the occupation and income level of the head of household.

The Solomon four-group design is a research design that attempts to take into account the influence of pretesting on subsequent posttest results.

is a type of true experimental design where test units are randomly allocated to two experimental groups and two control groups. One of the experimental groups and one of the control groups is measured. Both experimental groups are then exposed to a treatment. Afterwards both experimental and control groups are measured. Six measurements are taken in all and the design aims to account for pre-testing bias and pre-test manipulation interaction bias.

measures the degree of association of ordinal-level data by examining the ratio of the sum of the squared differences in the ranks of the paired data values to the number of variable pairs.

Conduct competitive/industry/market trend research in assigned areas using appropriate specialized data sources.

Firms that complete specific parts of the research for several corporate clients. Examples of provided services are data processing or statistical analysis.

is a document that businesses put together prior to launching a product's advertising and marketing plan.

A respondent who completes the survey in a fraction of the time they should have. Therefore, it is believed that they could not have possibly read and answered all the questions properly in the time taken.

is a procedure where a sample is divided into two halves and each receives a slightly different questionnaire.

is a technique in advertising research that involves placing an advertisement in one form in half of the copies of a given publication and in another form in the other half. The purpose is to compare the relative effectiveness of the two forms of advertisement.

The split-half method assesses the internal consistency of a test, such as psychometric tests and questionnaires. There, it measures the extent to which all parts of the test contribute equally to what is being measured.

The sponsor of a survey is responsible for funding part or all of the sampling and data collection activities and typically has first or exclusive rights to the data.

Sponsorships are the financial or in-kind support of activities. Businesses often sponsor events, trade shows, groups, or charity causes to reach specific business goals and increase their competitive advantage.

is a measure of how many respondents can quote a brand name without any assistance on behalf of the interviewer.

is when two variables appear to change together but there is no causal relationship between them.

Stability is the degree of similarity between segments obtained from different algorithms and different samples of the population.

is a measure of variability (or dispersion) of a distribution and it is equal to the square root of the variance.

is a measure of the amount of sampling error present and it is equal to the standard deviation.

The standard error of the mean quantifies how much variation is expected to be present in the sample means that would be computed from each and every possible sample, of a given size, taken from the population.

is a means of classifying businesses based on the products or services they provide

The Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) are four-digit codes that categorize the industries that companies belong to while organizing the industries by their business activities.

a region that consists of a city and surrounding communities that are linked by social and economic factors, as established by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Normal distribution, also known as the Gaussian distribution, is a probability distribution that is symmetric about the mean, showing that data near the mean are more frequent in occurrence than data far from the mean. In graph form, normal distribution will appear as a bell curve.

is a scale transformation procedure that involves manipulating data from different types of scales so that they can then be compared. It consists of subtracting the sample mean from each score and dividing by the standard deviation.

is a type of categorical, non-comparative scale that is similar to a semantic differential scale except that instead of having two opposing adjectives, there is only one adjective in between a sequence of positive and negative categories. Respondents indicate how relevant each single characteristic is to an object in question.

The initial number chosen when utilizing an Nth sampling interval.

A central location that organizes all of the state’s data (a planning agency, university, or library) that the U.S. Census Bureau utilizes for training, assistance, and consultation purposes.

is a type of pre-experimental design where there are two groups; an experimental group and a control group. The test units are not assigned randomly between both groups. The experimental group is exposed to a treatment and afterwards, both groups are measured.

A group that has experienced some treatment is compared with one that has not. Observed differences between the two groups are assumed to be a result of the treatment.

Statistics is the gathering and interpreting of data and it is a science.

Statistical control refers to the technique of separating out the effect of one particular independent variable from the effects of the remaining variables on the dependent variable in a multivariate analysis.

is a type of experimental design that allows for the statistical analysis and control of external variables. Examples of statistical design are: randomised blocks, Latin square and factorial design.

involves a comparison of the sampling errors generated by different sampling procedures. A statistically efficient sampling procedure is one that produces fewer sampling errors for the same sample size than other procedures.

Statistical inference is the process through which the researcher has to deduce or infer facts about the target population from which the sample is drawn .

refers to whether some research results genuinely reflect a population of interest in some way or whether the results could occur by chance. Statistical significance is determined by comparing the research results with the values defined by the confidence interval.

Measures of significance applied to collected data using a probability sample. This determines if the null hypothesis might be rejected and there is a degree of reliable difference between the two data sets.

Stimuli are any materials used in a market research study with the aim of inducing a reaction from respondents.

A stochastic oscillator is a momentum indicator comparing a particular closing price of a security to a range of its prices over a certain period of time.

is one where there is an element of random variation.

are a set of boards that illustrate the main points of a proposed TV commercial, details of dialogue and sound effects are also included.

is a projective technique where participants are asked to provide the conclusion to a number of incomplete stories provided by the researcher.

Strata' is a characteristic of stratified sampling method in which the entire population is divided into several homogeneous groups and a simple random sampling technique is applied on each of these groups.

In a strategic partnership the partners remain independent; share the benefits from, risks in and control over joint actions; and make ongoing contributions in strategic areas.

Stratified random sampling is a method of sampling that involves the division of a population into smaller sub-groups known as strata.

is a type of probability sample where the units in a population of interest are divided into mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive strata and a (proportionate or disproportionate) random sample is drawn from each stratum.

is a set of line charts where the data are successively aggregated over the series. The magnitudes of each variable are represented by the areas between the line charts.

A measure used in telephone surveys, similar to response rate.

is a form of observation study where the behaviour of interest and the method of observation are clearly specified in advance of the study. Usually expressed as the number of interviews made as a proportion of people contacted, thus higher than response rate.

A relational data language that provides a consistent, English keyword-oriented set of facilities for query, data definition, data manipulation and data control. It is a programmed interface to relational database management systems (RDBMSs).

A questionnaire that already includes fixed answers. The interviewer reads the question and answers and records which answer the respondent selected.

The respondent must choose from predetermined responses provided on the questionnaire.

is a row heading in banner format tabulations. It is usual practice to have the dependent variables as stubs

is a sample of a sample, which may or may not be selected using the same approach as the original sample.

a functional subdivision of a building or part of a building. b : a subdivision of a quantity, number, or section of things dealt with as a unit a sub-block of data.

The item that the study is being performed on. 

Subjective questions aim to measure a respondent's feelings, attitudes and perceptions of something.

is sales under the guise of research and it is one of the reasons why potential participants in market research projects are reluctant to take part.

The regression sum of squares describes how well a regression model represents the modeled data. A higher regression sum of squares indicates that the model does not fit the data well.

The South and West regions of the United States defined by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Exact directions written for the field service so that each survey will be conducted the same way.

is a type of non-sampling error where someone other that the intended respondent participates in the research and this produces a systematic difference between the resulting sample and the intended sample.

An error formed by an inconsistency between the information sought by the researcher and the information that is needed to solve a problem.

is a statement of purpose that outlines a specific result that a person aims to achieve within a specific time frame and with available resources.

is the survey research and analysis of the market for a particular product/service which includes the investigation into customer inclinations.

involve a (statistically) large number of interviews with respondents, using pre-designed questionnaires.

Synchronous online focus groups are a qualitative research tool to gather information from individuals via the Internet. However unlike traditional focus groups, online groups offer the advantage of bringing participants together regardless of their geographic location.

is where the findings and costs of a research project are shared (partially or fully) among a number of clients.

is a business service that provides overall market insights, assisting clients with market strategy and brand positioning. ... A firm can specialise in research for one industry and others may cover multiple industries.

is a type of brain storming where the participants are from a variety of different backgrounds are asked to solve a specific problem. The approach is intended to increase the creativity of ideas produced.

is an error that affects measurements in a consistent way.

is a type of probability sample where every nth unit is included in the sample from a list of the population of interest. The value of n is calculated by dividing the number of units in the population of interest by the required sample size.

Systematic error, or bias, results from mistakes or problems in the research design or from flaws in the execution of the sample design.