Qks MR Glossary_F-P Flashcards
F-test
Test of the probability that a particular calculated value could have been due to chance.
Face validity
The intuitive test of whether a measurement seems to measure what it is supposed to measure.
Fact
Something that can be demonstrated to be true. A proven piece of information.
Factor
A variable that is controlled or manipulated by the researcher. May also be known as the independent variable or factor.
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.
Factorial design
An experimental design in which all levels of each independent variable are combined with all levels of the other independent variables. A factorial design allows investigation of the separate main effects and interactions of two or more independent variables.
False accuracy
An unwarranted illusion of accuracy provided by details, such as statistics quoted to two decimal places.
Family
As defined by The Bureau of the Census, 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.
Fertility rate
General fertility rate is the number of births a year per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44. Total fertility rate is the number of live births per 1,000 women in their lifetime
Field
The physical location where the interviewing takes place.
Field Director
The person at a research company responsible for the data collection phase of the survey. This includes selecting, hiring and training interviewers.
Field audit
An independent review and examination of system records and activities in order to test the adequacy and effectiveness of data integrity procedures, to ensure compliance with established policy and operational procedures, and to recommend any necessary changes. Sometimes called validations.
Field experiments
Tests conducted outside the laboratory in an actual market environment.
Field management services
An agency that provides research project coordination. Services may include questionnaire formatting, screener writing, and data collection.
Field recruiter
The person responsible for the process of screening and obtaining focus group participants who meet specific demographic or other project requirements.
Field service
A research service responsible for conducting a client’s interviewing project and collecting data. The service provider hires and trains interviewers, conducts the interviews and edits and validates the interviewers’ data for a client’s survey project. Also known as interviewing service.
Field work
Any process of data gathering.
Filter question
A survey question that is used to identify respondents who have the information required to answer the next question.
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: 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. See also research report.
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.
Finite population correction factor (FPC)
An adjustment to the required sample size that is made in those cases in which the sample is expected to be equal to 5 percent or more of the total population.
Fixed field
A way of laying out or formatting list information in a computer file that puts every piece of data in a specific position relative to every other piece of data. If a piece of data is missing from an individual record, that space is not filled. Any piece of data exceeding its assigned space limitation must be abbreviated or contracted.
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.
Fixed sample
The repeated observation of the same sample of respondents over a period of time.
Focus Group Facility Manager
The person responsible for managing all aspects of a focus group facility. This may include managing the facility staff, scheduling projects, overseeing client interaction, monitoring quality and budget, preparing reports for clients and marketing the facility.
Focus Group Facility Project Director
The person responsible for managing individual studies at a facility. Responsibilities generally include managing participant recruiting and screening, briefing facility greeters and managers, meeting with clients and providing client care.
Focus Group Recruiter
A focus group facility employee or independent contractor responsible for screening pre-recruits and ensuring that all recruited respondents comply with specifications detailed for the project and that they turn up at the correct place, at the right time, being fully aware of what is expected of them.
Focus Group Scheduler
The employee of a focus group that works with sales people and project directors to schedule workload and facility use.
Focus group
A qualitative market research technique in which a group of participants (approx. 10) of common demographics, attitudes, or purchase patterns are led through a discussion of a particular topic by a trained moderator.
Focus group Web conference
Live video transmission of focus groups over the internet.
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. Known as a viewing facility in Europe.
Focus group moderator
The person hired by the client to lead the focus group.
Focus group recruiting
The process of screening and obtaining focus group participants who meet specific demographic or other project requirements.
Focus group teleconference
A small cross section of people who are in different locations brought together by telephone to provide feedback on marketing ideas and products.
Focus group transcriptions
A research service which provides a typewritten version of a audio or video recording of a focus group session.
Focus group videoconference
Live video transmission of focus groups directly to client video conferencing rooms. See also video focus groups.
Forced rating scale
A scale that does not allow a neutral or no opinion choice.
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.
Forecasting (trends) research
Estimating the likelihood of current and future market trends using existing data and facts.
Forms processing
A service in which information originally in hard copy (print) format is converted to a digital file.
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.
Frequency distribution
An organized display of a set of data that shows how often each different piece of data occurs.
Fresh participants
Focus group participants who have never participated in a session previously, or not for several years.
Friendliness effect
The tendency of respondents to agree with whatever is presented to them. Sometimes called ‘yea saying’ or ‘Acquiescence bias’.
Full group
A focus group with eight to 10 participants. A less-than-full group is normally referred to as a mini-group.
Full service marketing research
A research firm is considered full-service if they provide research services which incorporate complete project management from start to finish including problem definition, design and planning, data collection, analysis of data relevant to marketing decision making, and the communication of the results of this analysis with actionable analysis and recommendations.
Full text database
Index containing the full text of source documents, such as articles.
Funnel approach
A questioning technique using general questions in the early stages to collect information and then moving the questions to those that are less open-ended and more specific.
Galvanic skin response (GSR)
A change in the electrical resistance of the skin that is a physiochemical response to an emotional change.
Generalizability
The ability to draw a general conclusion about the population at large based on data and conclusions from a study of a subset (sample) of the population.
Generation X
Generally describes people born between 1965 and 1980 in the USA and Canada.
Generation Y
People born in the United States and Canada from the early 1980s to the mid-to-late 1990s. The demographic cohort is also known as Echo boomers or Millennials.
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.
Geographic information system
A business tool for interpreting data that consists of a demographic database, digitized maps, a computer and software.
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.
Goodness of fit test
A measure of how well observed data conform to a specified, expected, or theoretical probability distribution.
Graphic rating scales
Graphic continuums anchored by two extremes presented to respondents for evaluation of a concept or object.
Graphics research
Studies specifically designed to examine images.
Greenbook®
A Directory of research firms and a directory of focus group facilities published by the New York chapter of the American Marketing Association.
Grid
A graphic provided to focus group participants in conceptual mapping and attitudinal scaling exercises.
Grid test
A means of testing more than one variable at a time.
Gross incidence
The percent of qualified respondents reached of all contacts made.
Gross income
The total amount of money people have before taxes and necessities are paid for.
Grounded theory
A method of categorizing empirically collected data to build a general theory to fit the data.
Group bias
A situation in which group participants do not speak their true opinions in order to go along with a majority view of the rest of the group.
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.
Group interview
A qualitative research technique involving a discussion among eight to 10 respondents, led by a moderator. Also called focus groups, group discussions, panels, and group depth interviews.
Group quarters population
Residents of military barracks, college dormitories, prisons, long-term-care hospitals, boarding houses, nursing homes etc.
Growth rate
The total increase or decrease in a population during a given period divided by the average population in that period.
HTML survey
A questionnaire that is hosted and completed online using HyperText Markup Language (HTML). Also called online interviewing, Web interviewing, Internet interviewing, Web survey or CAWI.
Hadoop
A free open-source, Java-based programming framework that supports the processing of large data sets in a distributed computing environment. It is part of the Apache project sponsored by the Apache Software Foundation.
Hall tests
When face-to-face interviews are conducted at one or more specified locations often a large room or hall.
Halo effect
Bias created by a tendency to rate, perhaps unintentionally, certain objects, products or persons in a manner that reflects what was previously anticipated.
Hand tab
A manual count of answers on a questionnaire.
Hard Goods
Tangible products that can be stored or inventoried, that have an average life of at least three years and are generally not destroyed by use. Also known as durable goods.
Hawthorne effect
A threat to the external validity of a research study that occurs when research subjects temporary change behavior or performance as a result of their assumption about the purpose of the study or as a result of their awareness of being studied. Also known as the Demand characteristics.
Head of household
A term no longer used by the U.S. Census Bureau (although often used in the research industry). The new term is householder. The householder is the person who completed the Census Questionnaire.
Health care research
A specialized area of marketing research that deals specifically with health professionals or health/medical related topics.
Hedonic scale
A scale for measuring general, overall opinion of a product.
Heteroscedasticity
In regression analysis the condition of nonconstant variance.
Hispanic Marketing and Communication Association (HMCA)
A US based association with the mission of promoting excellence in Hispanic marketing.
Histogram
A vertical bar chart where the height of the bars represents the data.
History
Things that happen or outside variables that change between the beginning and end of an experiment. See also maturation.
Home audit
A survey where an interviewer enters a home to take an inventory of specific products present at that time.
Home-use tests
A product is given to respondents of the appropriate gender, age, etc. much as it would be sold at retail. The respondents are subsequently asked for their evaluation.
Homogeneous groups
Groups in which the units or individuals have extremely similar characteristics.
Homoscedasticity
In regression analysis it is the condition of constant variance.
Honorarium
The payment provided to focus group participants. The amount varies dramatically, based on the difficulty of recruiting the participants. Also called the co-op payment or incentive.
Host/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. Sometimes called a qualitative assistant.
Household
All persons who occupy a housing unit.
Householder
In most cases, the person in whose name the home is owned or rented. Also called head of household. In some cases, the individual who was surveyed or interviewed. The U.S. Census Bureau defines the householder is the person who completed the Census Questionnaire.
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.
Hypothesis
A tentative explanation based on a theory which is advanced as a basis for further investigation, validation or rejection.
Hypothesis test of proportions
Test to determine whether the difference between proportions is greater than would be expected because of sampling error.
Idea futures
Idea futures are speculative markets in which participants buy and sell prediction shares of whatever is trying to be predicted. The current market prices can then be interpreted as predictions of the probability of the event or the expected value of the parameter. Also known as predictive markets, prediction, markets, information markets, decision markets or virtual markets.
Idea generation
All of those activities and processes that lead to creating new product or service ideas that may warrant development.
Ideation
The process of forming and relating ideas. It is important in creativity, innovation and concept development.
Image studies
A study to determine consumer perception of a product, institution, brand, business, or person.
Image tracking
Studies repeated over time to monitor changes in a brand in consumers’ minds. Also known as Brand tracking.
Immigration
Movement of people into a country from another country.
Imputed response
A substitute for a missing response that is based on the pattern of other responses from a survey respondent.
In Case You Missed It
A digest of news and notes on marketing and research from a variety of print and online sources that has been a regular feature of Quirk’s Marketing Research Review magazine since 2005. Entries cover trends in consumer and business products and services, marketing research usage, and demographic developments.
In-depth interviews (IDIs)
A qualitative research technique in which a moderator interviews one participant. Generally lasting 30-60 minutes. Often there is a one-way mirror and observers watching the session. Also known as a one-on-one or diad.
In-home interview
Face-to-face interview in the home of a respondent.
In-house recruiting
The recruiting of focus group participants by people who are physically located within the focus facility.
In-house research
Research that is conducted by the staff in a client company (rather than by an outside marketing research vendor).
In-store research
Research conducted in establishments where a product is sold to the consumer.
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
Any figure referring to the percentage of people in a category. Examples: incidence of users, incidence of people qualifying for a study.
Income
As defined by the Census Bureau income is wage or salary income; self-employment income; interest, dividend, or net rental income; Social Security income; public assistance income; all other income, which includes unemployment compensation, veterans’ payment, pensions, alimony, etc.
Independent Field Director
An individual who is contracted to be responsible for the data collection phase of a survey including selecting, hiring and training interviewers.
Independent samples
Samples in which measurement of a variable in one population has no effect on the measurement of the variable in the other.
Independent variable
A variable that is controlled or manipulated by the researcher or one that exerts influence on another variable. See also predictor variables, or factor.
Inductive reasoning
A generalized conclusion is formulated based on observations or instances
Industrial research studies
Research studies of goods and services to business markets and generally conducted among respondents employed at a business.
Information markets
Information markets are speculative markets in which participants buy and sell prediction shares of whatever is trying to be predicted. The current market prices can then be interpreted as predictions of the probability of the event or the expected value of the parameter. Also known as predictive markets, prediction markets, decision markets, idea futures or virtual markets.
Initial refusal
When a respondent refuses to participate in a survey before he or she has been qualified to participate.
Instrument decay
The deterioration of measuring the dependent variable over time due to a reduction in the instrument’s (or observer’s) effectiveness and accuracy.
Instrument variation
Differences or changes in measurement instruments (e.g., interviews or observers) that explain differences in measurements.
Instrumental replication
A study which varies the experimental conditions of a previous study in an effort to duplicate the dependent measures used in the previous study. Study replication helps bring validity to the study results.
Integrated Interviewing Software
Comprehensive interviewing computer software which includes multiple data collection methods and analysis tools.
Intelligent data entry
The logical checking of information being entered into a data entry device by that machine or one connected to it.
Interactive Marketing Research Organization (IMRO)
A worldwide association of researchers dedicated to providing an open forum for the discussion of best practices and ethical approaches to research being conducted via the Internet.
Interactive electronic group research
Research in which participant’s hand held device relays their individual responses to a computer.
Interactive voice response (IVR)
A software application which enables users enter data on a telephone keypad or input information by voice. The software can then process the input and route the caller appropriately. IVR can be used for specific information lookup, call forwarding, polls, and simple order entry transactions.
Intercept
A recruitment method in which an interviewer stops people in a mall or other public location and administers survey.
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 secondary data
Data generated or collected by a business during its normal course of activity and which is readily available.
Internal validity
The extent to which competing explanations for the experimental results observed can be avoided.
International Association of Service Evaluators (IASE)
An association of mystery shopping companies joined by the desire to improve the service they offer customers.
International Mystery Shopping Alliance (IMSA)
A worldwide alliance of mystery shopping companies.
International interviewing
Interviews conducted in multiple countries.
International research providers
Firms the specialize in studies that reach across national boundaries.
International research studies
Research studies that reach across national boundaries.
Internet focus group
Live focus group in which participation takes place over the internet rather than in a physical location. The sessions have a moderator and the scheduled parties interact by typing via a chat like interface. Also called an Online focus group.
Internet panel
A study in which participants are contacted and screened and then periodically sent questionnaires through the Internet. Also known as an online panel.
Interpreting services
Converting spoken communication to another language while keeping the same meaning as in the original language.
Interquartile range
The difference between the 25th percentile (first quartile) and the 75th percentile (third quartile) in an ordered array of data. This range contains the middle 50% of the data.
Interrater reliability
The extent to which two different researchers obtain the same result when using the same instrument to measure a concept.
Interrupted time-series design
Research in which the treatment interrupts ongoing repeated measurements.
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. See ratio scale.
Interview
A data-collection encounter in which one person (an interviewer) asks questions of another.
Interviewer
The person responsible for administering a questionnaire. A good interviewer will understand the goals and purpose of research, have good reading and diction skills and an ability to interact with the public.
Interviewer error
Error that results from conscious or unconscious bias in the interviewer’s interaction with the respondent.
Interviewer’s instructions
Written directions to the interviewer on how to conduct the interview.
Interviewing service
A research service responsible for conducting a client’s Interviewing project. The service provider hires and trains interviewers, conducts the interviews and edits an validates the interviewers data for a client’s survey project. Also known as data collection field service.
Interviewing station
In a telephone interviewing facility, the actual cube, desk or location where the interviewer works.
Inverted funnel approach
A questioning technique using specific questions in the early stages and then moving the questions to those that are more general in nature.
Itemized rating scales
Scales in which the respondent selects an answer from a limited number of ordered categories.
Japan Marketing Research Association (JMRA)
JMRA endeavors to further the development of marketing research and its public awareness, to provide training and to establish a code of ethics for Japanese marketing research firms.
Journey Mapping
Journey mapping is a tool companies use to help document the customer experience from their own perspective. It documents the experience from initial contact, through the process of engagement and into a long-term relationship. The goal is to understand the customer’s greater motivation, What they wish to achieve and their expectations of the company.
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.
Kano method
A systematic method to understand how a customer’s sense of satisfaction is affected when a product or service succeeds or fails to meet either spoken or unspoken customer expectations. This approach was developed by Dr. Noriaki Kano of Tokyo Rika University. Dr. Kano’s model is usually shown in the form of the Kano Diagram or the 3-Arrow Diagram.
Key verifying
Having two operators enter the same data to verify that entry is accurate. Also known as “Verifying 100%”.
Keypunch
Means of converting hard copy to machine readable form by punching holes in either cards or paper tape (rarely used anymore).
Kinesic analysis
Examination of body language and what it communicates.
Kitchen facility
A kitchen used for the purpose of testing food products, appliances or food preparation techniques with participants. Also called a test kitchen.
Kolmogorov-Smirnov test
Test of the goodness of fit between the observed distribution and the expected distribution using ordinal data.
Kurtosis
A measurement of the peakedness (broad or narrow) of a frequency distribution. Higher kurtosis means more of the variance is due to infrequent extreme deviations, as opposed to frequent modestly-sized deviations.
Labor force
All civilians who are working or actively looking for work, plus members of the Armed Forced stationed in the U.S.
Labor force participation rates
The ratio of the population working or looking for work in an age-sex category to the total population in the category.
Laboratory experiments
Experiments conducted in a controlled setting.
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.
Latin square design
A statistical experimental design which varies the order of presentation of stimuli in such a way as to distribute sequence effects across the design.
Leading question
A question that is phrased in such a way as to suggest an answer. Also called a loaded question.
Legal research
A broad term encompassing various techniques (such as mock juries and opinion polling) that are used to develop and test legal arguments and opinions of legal issues.
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 time it takes to ask the questions and record the answers in a survey.
Level of significance
Probability of making a Type I error.
Lifecycle Research
Research which is focused on a group set apart from others because of age and/or because of the activities and events that surround that age. Examples include seniors, teenager, expectant mothers, empty nesters etc.
Lifestyle research
Research that attempts to explain behavior by analyzing people’s attitudes, hobbies, activities, orientations, habits and opinions. Often associated with psychographic research and clustering.
Lifestyle selectivity
Selectivity based on lifestyle habits of segments of the population, e.g., hobbies, interests, ownership etc.
Lifestyles of health and sustainability (LOHAS)
A demographic defining a particular market segment related to sustainable living, “green” ecological initiatives, and generally composed of a relatively upscale and well-educated population segment.
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. See also semantic differential.
Linear regression analysis
A method of estimating the conditional expected value of one variable y given the values of some other variable or variables x.
Listed sample
A sample which contains only directory-listed telephone households.
Listed telephone households
Households which are listed in published telephone directories.
Literal replication
The exact duplication of a previous study including using the same techniques and experimental conditions.
Literature search
A review of all available data or source information on a particular subject.
Living-room style
Refers to a focus group room which contains sofas and chairs and is arranged into a grouping.
Loaded question
A question that is phrased in such a way as to suggest an answer. Also called a leading question.
Location studies
Research to help identify the best intersection or property for a retail outlet.
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.
Long census form
The decennial census questionnaire that was answered by a sample of the population. Data from the long form are available only for large geographic areas because the Census Bureau protects the anonymity of all respondents.
