Market Research

the function that links an organization to its market through the gathering of information.

Perceptual Mapping

a technique used to picture the relative position of products on two or more product dimensions important to consumer purchase decisions

Research Proposal Contents

1. Purpose of the proposed research project 2. Type of study 3. Definition of target population and sample size 4. Sample design and data collection method 5. Specific research instruments 6. Potential managerial benefits of proposed study 7. Proposed cost for project 8. Profile of the company’s research capabilities 9. Optional dummy tables of the projected results

Market Research

the function that links an organization to its market through the gathering of information.

Perceptual Mapping

a technique used to picture the relative position of products on two or more product dimensions important to consumer purchase decisions.

Retailing Research

research investigations that focus on topics such as trade area analysis, store image/perception, in-store traffic patterns and location analysis.

Behavioral Targeting

displaying ads at one website based on the user’s previous surfing behavior.

Shopper Marketing

marketing to consumers based on research of the entire process consumers go through when making a purchase.

Benefit and Lifecycle Studies

examine similarities and differences in consumers’ needs.

Customized Research Firms

research firms that provide tailored services for clients.

Standardized Research Firms

research firms that provide general results following a standard format so that results of a study conducted for one client can be compared to the norms.

Syndicated Business Services

services provided by standardized research firms that include data made or developed from a common data pool.

Branded “black-box” Methodologies

methodologies offered by research firms that are branded and do not provide information about how the methodology works.

Curbstoning

data collection personnel filling out surveys for fake respondents.

Subject Debriefing

fully explaining to respondents any deception that was used during research.

Sugging/frugging

claiming that a survey is for research purposes and then asking for a sale or donation.

De-anonymizing Data

combining different publicly available information, usually unethically, to determine consumers’ identities, especially on the internet.

Secondary Data

data that has been previously collected for another purpose/study.

Primary Data

data collected for the task at hand.

Gatekeeper Technologies

technologies such as caller-ID that are used to prevent intrusive marketing practices such as by telemarketers and illegal scam artists.

Information Research Process

a systematic approach to collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and. Transforming data into decision-making information.

Info Research Process- Phase 1

determine the research problem

Info Research Process- Phase 2

select the research design

Info Research Process- Phase 3

execute the research design

Info Research Process- Phase 4

communicate results

Scientific Method

research procedures should be logical, objective, systematic, reliable, and valid.

Knowledge

information becomes knowledge when someone interprets the data and attaches meaning.

Situation Analysis

gathers and synthesizes background information to familiarize the researcher with the overall complexity of the problem.

Unit of Analysis

specifies whether data should be collected about individuals, households, organizations, departments, geographical areas, or some combination.

Exploratory Research

generates insights that will help define the problem situation confronting the researcher or improves the understanding of consumer motivations, attitudes, and behavior that are not easy to access using other research methods.

Descriptive Research

collects quantitative data to answer research questions.

Causal Research

collects data that enables decision makers to determine cause-and-effect relationships between two or more variables.

Target Population

the population from which the researcher wants to collect data.

Census

the researcher attempts to question or observe all the members of a defined target population.

Sample

a small number of members of the target population from which the researcher collects data.

Research Proposal

a specific documents that provides an overview of the proposed research and methodology, and serves as a written contract between the decision maker and the researcher.

Internal Secondary Data

comes from within the company.

External Secondary Data

comes from sources outside of the company.

Literature Review

a comprehensive examination of available information that is relation to your research topic.

Syndicated Data

data that have been compiled according to some standardized procedure; provides customized data for companies, such as market share, ad effectiveness, and sales tracking.

Consumer Panels

large samples of households that provide specific, detailed data on purchase behavior for an extended period of time.

Media Panels

similar to consumer panels but the information focuses on media usage behavior.

Store Audits

formal examination and verification of how much of a particular product or brand has been sold at the retail level.

Variable

an observable item that is used as a measure on a questionnaire.

Construct

an unobservable concept that is measured by a group of related variables.

Relationships

associations between two or more variables.

Positive Relationship

variables increase/decrease together.

Negative Relationship

when one variable increases, the other decreases.

Conceptualization

development of a model that shows variables and hypothesized or proposed relationships between variables.

Hypothesis

an empirically testable though yet unproven statement developed in order to explain phenomena.

Null Hypothesis

a statistical hypothesis that is tested for possible rejection under the assumption that it is true.

Alternative Hypothesis

the hypothesis contrary to the null hypothesis, it usually suggests that two variables are related.

Parameter

the true value of a variable

Sample Statistic

the value of a variable that is estimated from a sample.

Quantitative Research

uses questionnaires with predetermined responses; usually administered to a large number of respondents.

Qualitative Research

open-ended questions, usually administered to a small number of respondents.

In-Depth Interview

a data collection method in which a well-trained interviewer asks a participant a set of semi-structured questions in a face-to-face setting.

Bulletin Board

an online research format in which participants agree to post regularly over a period of 4-5 days.

Purposive Sampling

selecting sample members to study because they possess attributes important to understanding the research topic.

Stratified Purposive Sampling

selecting sample members so that groups can be compared.

Theoretical Sampling

selecting sample members based on earlier interviews that suggest that particular types of participants will help researchers better understand the research topic.

Focus Group Moderator

a person who is trained in intrapersonal communication that leads a focus group.

Moderator’s Guide

a detailed outline of the topics, questions, and sub questions used by the moderator to lead a focus group.

Debriefing Analysis

an interactive procedure in which the research and moderator discuss the subjects’ responses to the topics that outlines the focus group discussion.

Content Analysis

the systematic procedure of taking individual responses and grouping them into larger them categories/patterns.

Groupthink

when members of a group are influenced by other group members.

Purposed Communities

brand communities that can be used for research.

Marketing Research Online Communities (MROCs)

purposed communities whose primary purpose is research.

Ethnography

qualitative data collection; records behavior in natural settings to understand how social and cultural influences affect individuals’ behaviors and experiences.

Participant Observation

an ethnographic research technique that involves extended observation of behavior in natural settings in order to fully experience cultural or subcultural contexts.

Case Study

an exploratory research technique that intensively investigates one or several existing situations that are similar to the current problem.

Projective Techniques

an indirect method of questioning that enables a subject to project beliefs and feelings onto a third party, into a task situation, or onto an inanimate object.

Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMAT)

a visual research technique used in in-depth interviewing that encourages research participants to share emotional and subconscious reactions to a particular topic.

Observational Research

systematic observation and recording of behavioral patterns of objects, people, events, and other phenomena.

Technology-mediated Observation

data collection using some type of mechanical device to capture human behavior, or marketing phenomena.

Scanner-based Panel

a group of participating households that have a unique bar-coded card as an identification characteristic for inclusion in the research study.

Social Media Monitoring

research based on conversations in social media.

Listening Platform/Post

an integrated system that monitors and analyzes social media sources to provide insights that will support marketing decision making.

Sentiment Analysis/Opinion Mining

the application of technological tools to identify, extract, and quantify subject information in textual data.

Netnography

a research technique that requires deep engagement with online communities.