Marketing Research Glossary - A

24-Hour Recall: Also referred to as Day-After Recall. An advertising-testing technique that measures the percentage of people watching a given TV program who recall seeing or hearing a TV commercial 24 hours after its airing. Same definition applies to radio commercials. Advertising Research Services

3D Animation: A three-dimensional representation of images. Decision Analyst uses 3D animation in virtual shopping exercises and in product evaluations. Shelf Set Testing Services

80-Column Dump: A computer-generated frequency count of the number of people giving each answer to the questions in a questionnaire. Used primarily to double-check the results in cross-tabulations or to generate a topline report. Also called a Marginal or a Flash Report.

A - Marketing Research Glossary

A&U (Attitudes & Usage): Another name for AAU (Awareness, Attitude, & Usage) or ATU (Awareness, Trial, & Usage) studies. A quantitative survey to measure consumer awareness, trial, and usage for a product category and/or brand. These same measurements are often incorporated into tracking studies.

A. C. Nielsen Retail Index: Historically, an in-store audit-based service to measure retail sales of food, household supplies, beauty aids, and related products sold through supermarkets and major retailers. Store audits replaced over time by Scanner data and Panel data.

A Priori Segmentation: Market segmentation based on someone’s judgment, experience, or intuition). Market Segmentation Services

AAPOR: A professional organization of more than 2,000 public-opinion and survey-research professionals in the United States and from around the world, with members from academia, media, government, the non-profit sector, and private industry. AAPOR publishes three academic journals: Public Opinion Quarterly, Survey Practice, and the Journal for Survey Statistics and Methodology.

AAU (Awareness, Attitude, & Usage) Study: A quantitative survey to measure consumer awareness, attitudes, and product usage for a product category and/or brand. These same measurements can often be incorporated into tracking studies.

ACASI (Audio Computer-Aided Self-Administered Interviewing): Self-administered survey in which the respondent listens to the questions over headphones. Responses are usually registered using a computer-based questionnaire.

Acceptance: A decision by individuals to participate in a survey or study.

Acceptance Rate: The percentage of the population that agrees to participate in a survey or study.

Access Panel: Also referred to as a Consumer Panel. A database of consumers who have agreed to take part in surveys. Typically, these consumers register and share information about their households; this information is then used in sample selection. American Consumer Opinion® Online is Decision Analyst's worldwide consumer panel with several million members.

Accompanied Shopping: A shopping trip during which an interviewer accompanies a respondent (with his or her agreement) as that person goes shopping. Sometimes called a Shop-along.

Accuracy: The degree to which a sample statistic estimates or predicts a population parameter.

ACG (Address Coding Guide): A list of beginning and ending house numbers, ZIP codes, and other geographic codes for all addresses within a geographic area served by the USPS.

Achieved Communality: A term used in factor analysis that represents the proportion of variance in an original variable accounted for by all the extracted factors. Each original variable will have an achieved communality value in the factor analysis output.

ACOP (American Consumer Opinion® Panel): A worldwide online panel of several million consumers who agree to participate in online surveys. American Consumer Opinion® Panel is owned by Decision Analyst. Global Internet Panels

ACORN (A Classification of Residential Neighborhoods): A classification system that groups U.S. households into many different lifestyle segments, broken down by small geographic areas.

Acquiescence Bias: A systematic bias caused by a tendency of some respondents to agree with whatever is presented to them. Such a bias is more likely to occur during telephone or in-person interviews.

Active Buyer: A customer whose latest purchase was made recently (purchase cycle determines the definition of “recently”).

Active Panel Members: Panel members who have registered to join American Consumer Opinion® (Decision Analyst's worldwide online panel), participate in surveys on a regular basis, and maintain their memberships in the panel. Online Research Capabilities

Active Server Pages (ASP): A web technology used to create web pages on demand from data usually held in a database.

Ad Agency Marketing Research Departments: Groups within advertising agencies that conduct or subcontract marketing and advertising research for the ad agency’s clients (sometimes referred to as Planning Departments, Strategy and Insights Departments, or Consumer Insights Departments).

Ad Concept Testing: Survey research to measure reactions of target audience consumers to early-stage versions of proposed ads. Advertising Research Services

Ad Hoc Research: Also referred to as Custom Marketing Research. Research designed to address the specific needs or problems of a given client (i.e., research custom-designed to solve a specific problem).

Ad Hoc Study: A study designed to address a specific problem or issue.

Ad Positioning Test: Research to identify the best positioning for a brand to use in its advertising.

Ad Recognition: An aided measure. An ad or commercial is shown to respondents, and they are asked if they have seen or heard that advertising in the past.

Ad Statements Test: Survey research to screen and evaluate many different advertising themes or messages. Advertising Research Services

Ad Tracking Research: Also called Advertising Tracking Research. Survey research to measure brand and advertising awareness, advertising message recall, and other variables relating to advertising over time. These surveys are conducted at points in time (“waves” or “dips”) or conducted continuously.

Address Coding Guide (ACG): A list of beginning and ending house numbers, ZIP codes, and other geographic codes for all addresses within a geographic area served by the USPS.

ADI (Area of Dominant Influence): The geographic area dominated by the television or radio stations in a given market. The boundaries of these areas are defined by the points where 50% of television households are watching TV stations from the central market. Every county is assigned to an ADI.

Advanced Analytics: The application of advanced mathematical models to determine the solution of business and marketing problems. Marketing Science and Data Science are similar terms. Advanced Analytic Services

Advertising Awareness, Aided (or Total): The percentage of respondents aware of a brand's advertising on a prompted basis, which is typically measured by asking, “Which of the following brands, if any, have you seen or heard advertised in the past 30 days?” A traditional convention is to include Unaided Awareness in the Aided Awareness numbers. If these two types of awareness are combined, the Aided Awareness is the same as Total Awareness. Advertising Research Services

Advertising Awareness, Unaided: The percentage of respondents who spontaneously recall a specific brand when asked, “Have you seen or heard any advertising for [product category] in the past 30 days, or not?” (IF “YES”) “Which brands did you see or hear advertised?”

Advertising Research: Also called Advertising Testing or Copy Testing. Qualitative or survey research designed to measure consumer reactions to advertising. Can be performed at every stage, from early-stage concept boards to the final commercials. Advertising Research Services

Advertising Response Model: A mathematical model that predicts the effects of changes in media advertising spending, or changes in media mix and weights, on sales of a service or product. Decision Analyst evolves such models over time based on consistent copy testing, media measurement and tracking, sales tracking, and other modeling inputs.

Advertising Testing: Also called Advertising Research or Copy Testing. Survey research designed to measure consumer reactions to advertising. Early-stage concept boards to final finished commercials can be tested.

Advertising Tracking Research: Online or telephone surveys to measure brand and advertising awareness, advertising message recall, and other variables relating to advertising over time. These surveys are conducted at points in time (“waves” or “dips”) or conducted continuously. Advertising Services

Affective Component Of Attitudes: An individual’s emotions and feelings that relate to or underlie an attitude.

After-Only With Control Group: A true experimental design that involves random assignment of people to experimental or test group versus a control group. This is an after-the-event measurement only (i.e., no premeasurement of the test and control groups).

Aggregate: A summary measure made by compounding two or more separate economic measures (e.g., national income and price index numbers).

Aggregate Model: A multivariate model whose coefficients are produced at an aggregate, market, or segment level rather than at an individual respondent level.

Aided Awareness: The proportion of people who are aware of (i.e., have seen or heard of) a product, brand name, company, or trademark on a prompted basis.

Alert: Any means (e.g., email, text, telephone, fax, or mail) of informing a data-collection company of a study’s authorization, starting date, delivery of materials, quota, timing, cost, etc.

Algorithm: A set of instructions for solving complex mathematical problems, typically used in computer programming and/or statistical modeling.

Allocation: A method of distributing sample sizes to the strata in a stratified sample. Two commonly used methods of allocation are: Proportional Allocation, where the sample size of a stratum is proportional to the population size of the stratum; and Optimum Allocation, in which the sample sizes are allocated to the strata in such a manner as to minimize the standard error for overall survey results.

Allowable Sampling Error: The maximum amount of sampling error a 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.

American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR): A professional organization of public opinion and survey research professionals in the United States and from around the world, with members from academia, media, government, the non-profit sector and private industry. AAPOR publishes three academic journals: Public Opinion Quarterly, Survey Practice, and the Journal for Survey Statistics and Methodology.

American Consumer Opinion® Panel: A worldwide online panel of several million consumers who agree to participate in online surveys. American Consumer Opinion® Panel is owned by Decision Analyst. Online Research Services

American Standard Code of Information Interchange (ASCII): Character encoding for the English alphabet. ASCII codes represent text in computers and databases.

Analysis Of Covariance (ANCOVA): An analysis-of-variance procedure in which the effects of one or more metric-scaled extraneous variables (covariates) are removed from the dependent-variable data before one conducts an Analysis of Variance (ANOVA).

Analysis Of Variance (ANOVA): A test for the difference among the means of two or more variables.

Anchor Label: A label used to define the endpoint of an attitudinal scale.

Anchored-Grid Question Type (AG): A question type that accepts one answer per row wherein each row is anchored on both ends. See example below:

What images or impressions of this new product did you get from the product description? For each row shown below, you may choose any number from “1” to “5” to express your opinion. Did the product description give you the impression this new product would be...? {Choose One Answer on Each Row Below?
 
 
1    2    3    4    5
 
Low In Quality
1    2    3    4    5
High In Quality
Weak
1    2    3    4    5
Strong
Easy
1    2    3    4    5
Difficult
 

Anchored Scales: Any type of scale used in questionnaires where some points on the scale are "anchored" or communicated by words, pictures, colors, etc.

ANCOVA (Analysis of Covariance): An analysis-of-variance procedure in which the effects of one or more metric-scaled extraneous variables (covariates) are removed from the dependent-variable data before one conducts Analysis of Variance (ANOVA).

Announcement Email (Selection Email): An email sent to online panel members to alert them that they have been selected for a survey, or to notify panel members that home-use test products are being mailed to their home address.

Anonymity: Concealing respondents’ identities from researchers, clients, and third parties.

ANOVA (Analysis of Variance): A test for the difference among the means of two or more variables.

Answer Card: Cards containing rating scales or preset answers that are shown to respondents during in-person research surveys. Also called Show Cards, Exhibits, or Prompts.

Answer Code: A unique number associated with an answer in a survey. Each answer has an answer code. As a verb, “code” means to define and categorize answers to Open-Ended Questions. Code is also used as a reference to computer code (lines of software statements).

Answer Stub: Also called Stub. The label for a row of data on a cross-tabulation table or other data presented in tabular form.

Anthropomorphization: A research technique in which participants are asked to describe a product, service, or brand in terms of human personality traits. See also Personalization Technique.

API (Application Programming Interface): A set of definitions and protocols that allow one computer system to interact with a second computer system.

Applet: A small Java program that can be embedded in an HTML page. An applet provides functionality or performance beyond the capabilities of the browser. Applets can be used to display videos, for example.

Application Programming Interface (API): A set of definitions and protocols that allow one computer system to interact with a second computer system.

Application Service Provider (ASP): A company that provides computer-based services over a network using standard protocols.

Applied Creativity Process®: A creativity system developed by Decision Analyst’s Innovation team to facilitate internal ideation sessions for clients; it’s Decision Analyst’s unique approach to creative problem-solving. Imaginators® Services

Applied Research: Research aimed at solving specific, real-world problems, as opposed to theoretical research.

Appropriate Time Order Of Occurrence: A change in an independent variable occurring before an observed change in the dependent variable.

Area of Dominant Influence (ADI): The geographic area dominated by the television or radio stations in a given market. The boundaries of these areas are defined by the points where 50% of television households are watching TV stations from the central market. Every county is assigned to an ADI.

Area Probability Samples: Samples in which every member of a geographic area has a known nonzero probability of being selected for a sample.

Area Samples: Samples that are defined by geographic areas.

Arithmetic Mean: Same as the Average. A measure of central tendency, like the Median and the Mode. It is calculated by summing a series of values and dividing the sum by the number of values.

Artificiality: The degrees to which experimental conditions do not reflect real-life, real-world conditions. A high degree of artificiality might reduce external validity (i.e., be difficult to project the experimental results to the population as a whole).

ASCII (American Standard Code of Information Interchange): Character encoding for the English alphabet. ASCII codes represent text in computers and databases.

ASP (Active Server Pages): A web technology used to create web pages on demand from data usually held in a database..

ASP (Application Service Provider): A company that provides computer-based services over a network using standard protocols.

Assessment Sheet (Data Entry): A study control log where data-entry personnel sign out batches of paper questionnaires, enter them, and then sign in the completed batch.

Asset Optimization: Also known as Strategic Market Plan. Asset optimization determines the optimum locations for productive and profitable stores in a selected market or geographic area. Learn More

Association Technique: A projective technique used primarily in qualitative research. Respondents are presented with some stimuli (words, pictures, sounds, colors, etc.) and asked to describe what comes to mind.

At-Home Testing: A research method in which a test product is provided for participants to use at home. Reactions to the product are measured in a follow-up online survey, telephone survey, mail survey, personal interview, or in a focus group session. Also referred to as Home Usage Test (HUT) or In-Home Usage Test (iHUT). Product Testing Services

Atomistic Test: A test that focuses participants' attention on individual elements of a product or concept (in contrast to a Holistic Test that looks at a product or concept as a whole).

Attempt: When someone tries to contact a potential research participant, whether or not anyone is actually reached. This term is used primarily in door-to-door or in-person research, including mall-intercept research and telephone surveys.

Attitude: An individual’s learned predisposition to think or behave in a somewhat consistent manner. There are two main components of attitude: a Cognitive Component (knowledge and assumptions) and an Affective Component (feelings and emotions).

Attitude & Usage Surveys (A&U): Another name for AAU (Awareness, Attitude, &Usage) or ATU (Awareness, Trial, &Usage) studies. A quantitative survey to measure consumer awareness, trial, and usage for a product category and/or brand. These same measurements are often incorporated into tracking studies.

Attitude Research: Survey research to measure how people feel about certain products, services, brands, ideas, or companies.

Attitude Scaling: The development of words, terms, statements, or visuals to measure individuals’ attitudes.

Attitudinal Scale or Scaling: Survey questions in which respondents rate a brand, product, or service on a predetermined scale, such as “very happy,” “somewhat happy,” or “not happy.”

Attitudinal Statements: Statements used in surveys. Respondents are asked to rate how they feel about given statements or whether than agree or disagree with given statements.

Attribute: A word or phrase that describes a product, service, brand, or person. For example, “durability,” “speed,” and “beauty” might be attributes in a sports car study.

ATU (Awareness, Trial, and Usage) Study: A quantitative survey to measure consumer awareness, trial, and usage for a product category and/or brand. These same measurements are often incorporated into tracking studies.

Audit: Also called Store Audit or Retail Audit. The measurement of a product’s sales in a store for a time period by counting beginning inventory, adding new shipments, and subtracting ending inventory.

Augment: Also called a Sample Augment or Boost. A quota added to increase the number of interviews needed for a particular segment or subgroup—to have more respondents than a random sample of the total population would yield.

Autocorrelation: The interdependence among the pairs of observations, usually in a time series, which are separated by a constant interval. Excessive autocorrelation can cause problems when estimating time-series models.

Automatic Interaction Detection: An algorithm that identifies interactions among several predictor or independent variables.

Average: Same meaning as Arithmetic Mean or Mean. A measure of central tendency, like the median and the mode. It is calculated by summing a series of values and dividing the sum by the number of values.

Awareness: The proportion of people who are aware of (i.e., have seen or heard of) a product, brand name, company, ad, or trademark. Generally subdivided into Unaided Awareness and Total Awareness (including Aided Awareness).

Awareness, Attitude, & Usage Study (AAU): A quantitative survey to measure consumer awareness, attitudes, and product usage for a product category and/or brand. These same measurements can often be incorporated into tracking studies.

Awareness, Trial, & Usage Study (ATU): A quantitative survey to measure consumer awareness, trial, and product usage for a product category and/or brand. These same measurements are often incorporated into tracking studies.

Contact Decision Analyst

If you would like more information on Marketing Research, please contact Jerry W. Thomas by emailing jthomas@decisionanalyst.com or by calling 1-817-640-6166.