is a single mailing or group of interviews conducted at about the same time. A research study or survey may consist of several waves.

Web bugs are often used by spammers to validate e-mail addresses. When a recipient opens an email message that includes a Web bug, information returned to the sender indicates that the message has been opened, which confirms that the email address is valid.

is a questionnaire that is based on a web site. Potential respondents are invited to participate in the survey (by a banner advert or other message) and then they are given a link to a satellite site where they complete a questionnaire. The survey is completed on line and respondents can be offered anonymity.

is a sample to which weighting has been applied.

is when the responses from some (or all) sub-groups are assigned a statistical weight to reflect the importance of the subgroup in the population of interest.

is a method of averaging that initially replaces the smallest and largest values with the observations closest to them. This is done to limit the effect of abnormal extreme values, or outliers, on the calculation.

is a form of projective technique where participants are presented with a list of words and, after each word, they are asked to say the first word that comes into their minds.

word association is a method of testing respondents' opinions and perceptions by giving them a word or phrase and requesting that they respond with the first word that comes in to their head when they hear or see it.

The process of promoting or marketing through human interaction. Customers share their opinions creating buzz. The Internet is a fantastic forum for this marketing technique. Blogs, readers, and discussion boards are popular online tools for generating buzz. A form of viral marketing.

The number of working or assigned residential telephone numbers as a proportion of the entire sample.

Focus group participants write their views on a topic during the session. This practice assists in getting participants to commit to their point of view before other participants can influence them.