MARKET RESEARCH GLOSSARY - A |
AAPOR
American Association of Public Opinion Research
A&U - see Usage & Attitude Surveys
Absolute Error - see Total Error
Accompanied Shopping
A form of observation study where an interviewer accompanies a respondent (with his or her agreement) as they go shopping.
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.
Acquiescence Bias (aka “yea saying” or “friendliness effect”)
A systematic bias caused by some respondents tending to agree with whatever is presented to them. Such a bias may be caused by either respondents or interviewers being overly friendly during interviews.
Additive Causal Relationship
A type of causal relationship in which the effect of two variables on a third variable is additive (ie one variable does not counteract the effect of the other variable).
Ad Hoc Research
Research that is specifically designed to address a particular problem or issue. Ad hoc research is usually conducted when there is insufficient existing information. Ad hoc projects are usually single pieces of research rather than part of a continuous programme.
Affective Component
One of the three components of attitude that is concerned with individuals’ emotions or feelings towards an object or idea.
Aggregate
A summary measure made by compounding two or more separate measures, eg national income and price index numbers.
Aided Awareness - see Prompted Awareness
Alert
A means of informing a data collection company of a study authorisation and it usually includes a start date, delivery of materials, quota, timings and cost etc. Alerts can be made by e-mail, telephone or fax etc.
All Commodity Volume (ACV)
The base commonly used in reporting a product's retail distribution. If a product is distributed in only one out of every five stores, it is 20%. However, if the stores that carry the product are the very largest stores that account for 80% of sales, then the ACV is 80%.
Alternative Hypothesis
A statement that suggests a difference or an effect is present (ie there is an alternative). The alternative hypothesis is adopted when the null hypothesis has been disproved.
Analyse (aka Analysis)
The review of information gained from the responses to questionnaires completed for a study or other data and to arrive at conclusions or to make decisions and recommendations on the subject being studied.
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 ANOVA.
Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)
A statistical technique for examining the differences among means for two or more populations.
Anchor Label
A label used to define an extremity of a measurement scale.
Anonymity
Involves concealing respondents’ identities from interviewers and/or researchers.
Answer Cards - see Prompt Material
A Posteriori
An approach where a theoretical framework is developed from the research (after it has been conducted).
A Priori
An approach where a theoretical framework is developed before the research is conducted.
Area Sampling
A type of cluster sampling where geographical areas are the clusters.
Arithmetic Mean - see Mean
Artificiality
The degree to which experimental conditions do not reflect real-life conditions. A high degree of artificiality reduces external validity (ie it becomes difficult to project the experimental results to the population of interest).
Association Matrix - see Contingency Table
Association Technique
A form of projective technique where participants are presented with some stimulus material and they are then asked to respond with the first thing that comes to their minds.
Atomistic Test
A test that aims to assess participants’ reactions to 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 and whether or not the contact results in the potential respondent participating in some research.
Attitude
An individual’s learned predisposition to behave in a consistent manner towards an object or idea. There are three components of attitude:
- A cognitive component - knowledge and beliefs.
- An affective component - feelings and emotions.
- A conative component - behaviour (usually measured in terms of likelihood to buy).
Attitude Research (aka Attitude Survey)
A research study to obtain information on how people feel about certain products, ideas or companies.
Attitude Scaling
The development of measurement criteria used to measure individuals’ attitudes.
Attribute
A word or phrase to describe a qualitative characteristic of an idea or object under consideration, eg gender is a attribute but age is a variable.
Attribute Analysis
A technique that is designed to develop lists of characteristics, uses or benefits relevant to a particular product category.
Audimeter - see People Meter
Audit
Has two definitions in the context of Marketing Research:
- Store Audit: A method of determining the number of product units that have been sold, by counting physical units in stores and combining that with a knowledge of the number ordered and stock levels.
- Project Audit: Involves visiting a project site to ensure all project specifications are being met and agreed procedures are being followed.
Average
A general term that is used to represent or summarise the relevant features of a set of values. The arithmetic mean is often used as a measure of average, but the median and the mode can also be used to summarise a set of values.
Average Issue Readership
The average number of people who read a particular publication.
Average Opportunities to See - see Frequency
Awareness
A measure of respondents’ knowledge of an object or an idea. There are two main measures of awareness: spontaneous (or unaided) and prompted (or aided) awareness.