Market Research Glossary
This glossary identifies the most common words used within the marketing research industry. It aims to provide simple and easy to digest definitions:
ACORN - The acronym for "A Classification Of Residential Neighbourhoods." It is used to classify neighbourhoods by variables such as demographics and housing types.
Ad Hoc Research – This is a particular type of research which is tailored for a client or market.
Armchair Research – This is information which has been taken from existing studies from sources such as publications and is then used for research purposes. This is a secondary information source.
Attitude – This is the mental state involving the beliefs, feelings and values of a person which shape the way the person acts towards a specific thing.
Average - A mathematical term for a number which can be obtained through the addition of a group of numbers and divided by the amount of numbers which were initially added.
Closed Question – This is a question with only a yes/ no possibility as a response. For example, ‘do you own a car?’
Competitor Research – The research conducted into the existing or potential future competition of an organisation. The areas explored are the competitor's strengths and weaknesses, its customer base and competition reaction.
Consumer - A person or organisation which purchases goods or services.
Consumer Panel – This is a group of consumers who give feedback on products or services they have used in order to help produce better products or new advertising initiatives.
Consumer Research – This is the research conducted to identify why consumers buy particular goods and services and to recognise what their future buying habits might be.
Consumer Survey - A survey which aims to identify existing and potential demand for a product or a service.
Control Group - A group of people who do not receive any experimental treatment, but instead are used to be compared to the experimented groups.
Demographic – This is the particular characteristics of a group of people or population which are pooled and used in marketing research.
Extrapolation - The mathematical process of applying primary research results to the entire potential market in order to determine the market size for a product or service of a potential market.
Focus Group - A group of people brought together with the intention to informally discuss a market-research question. The individuals are recruited through a marketing research company on behalf of another company.
Margin of Error - The number of errors which are acceptable in a survey. It is usually presented in a percentage format.
Market Area- The geographical area which represents a particular market. For example, the market area where televisions are used.
Market Development - This is the pursuit of new markets for a product or service, using a method of gathering information.
Marketer - A person or company that engages in any type of marketing activities.
Marketing Research – The research conducted for the purpose of producing better marketing results. This can include market research, consumer research and product research.
Multiple Choice Question – This is a type of question which lists the answers to choose from. Normally, the choices do not exceed 5, to prevent the respondent from becoming overwhelmed.
NDP – This is the acronym for ‘New Product Development.’
Open Questions – This is a type of question where there are many or an infinite number of potential responses, so no options are given. This type of question is used to understand an issue more deeply and encourages creative thinking. For example, ‘why do you like the iPhone?’
Opinion Leader - A person who's opinions are particularly influential on other’s and society in general. These people tend to be prominent public figures such as celebrities and politicians.
Opinion Leader Research – This is the research conducted in order to understand the opinions and attitudes of opinion leaders.
Opinion Poll – Where a sample group of people are asked their opinion on a particular topic, in order to determine the opinion of the entire population. The group is normally chosen using the SRS (simple random sample) method.
Panel - A group of people, normally consumers, whom provide feedback on marketing problems.
Pantry Check - A type of survey where the group of participants record the purchases made in their household over a given time period. The introduction of wireless barcode scanners has made this process a lot more convenient for households.
Personal Surveys - A one to one survey in person, between a respondent and an interviewer. This is quite popular in public places such as shopping malls.
Poll – This is where a group of the population is asked how they feel or what they think about a particular topic.
Population - The number of people who live in any given area such as a neighbourhood, city, county or country.
Postal Survey - A type of survey that is sent to potential respondents by mail. They are filled in at home and then sent back. Usually, postal surveys have a low response rate.
Sample - This is a group of people (noun) who represent a larger group and are studied to draw conclusions from.
To ask (verb) a representative group of people questions to find out what the response of a larger group would be.
Sample Size – This is the number of people used for a survey.
Sampling - The testing of reactions in a small group of representative people, consequently used to represent the attitudes of a much larger population.
Sampling Error - The difference in results between what a small sample of people think and what the results would be if the entire population were surveyed.
Sampling Point – This is the location at which sampling is conducted.
Scale Question - A type of question where a scale is used for the purpose of measuring or rating something.
Semi-Structured Questionnaire – This is a type of questionnaire which is often used within business to business research. It uses a variety of question types including multiple choice, open, closed, true/ false and scale questions.
Structured Questionnaire – This is a type of questionnaire which is used in longer surveys where specific answers are anticipated. It includes the use of multiple choice and scale questions.
Telephone Surveys - A survey which is conducted through the telephone. The potential respondents are called by an interviewer to answer the questions.
Unstructured Questionnaire - A type of questionnaire which is used for technical/ specialist markets. In-depth questions are asked with the intention of accumulating a large variety of responses. This format is very flexible which helps to create a flowing conversation where lots or relevant information can be obtained.
