Market research glossary

Academic research involves collecting and analyising data within the education sector to understand competitor trends and student and staff satisfaction. The benefits of surveying university or college alumni and current students mean educational institutions can improve course offerings, recruitment, and student wellbeing.

Also known as a Market Research Panel. A  panel made up of people who have either applied or been invited to become panel members. Panel members are then invited to take part in research projects that are aligned to their profile and registered interests. Respondents are often incentivised with a monetary gift. Panels can be consumer or business-oriented. If you would like to join FieldworkHub’s panel, please visit: https://myfieldworkhub.com/

Thanks to online platforms, market research is becoming more accessible to those who may have been excluded in the past. Those who suffer from mobility issues or struggle to pay the upfront cost of travelling to a larger city to take part in face-to-face research can now partake in online surveys, focus groups, online bulletin boards and more through digital platforms. This widens the pool of insights businesses are able to gather and allows for less represented voices to be heard.

Observing and interviewing a respondent as they participate in a shopping activity.

Observing and interviewing  a respondent as they interact with a website or app. The respondent may follow their instincts or be aided by instructions from an interviewer. Accompanied surfs can occur remotely or in usability testing suites that can collect additional information such as eye tracking or facial expression monitoring.

Also known as an Ad Lab. Used as a qualitative and quantitative method, ad concept testing involves the trialling of ad concepts with individual respondents or groups of respondents. These tests observe the relevance, understanding, impact and appeal of the product or service being advertised. A relatively new development in ad concept testing involves measuring the respondents’ neural responses to the ads by asking them to wear a skull cap with sensors attached during the tests (see Neuromarketing Research)

This refers to studies which are carried out at a particular point in time as opposed to ongoing or longitudinal research. Most qualitative market research is ad hoc in that it is used to answer questions that are important at the time but do not need to be followed up in the future.

A metric that aims to measure what percentage of an audience remember seeing or hearing certain elements of an advertisement after it has been shown. It is used to gain insights on how effective an advertising campaign is at leaving a lasting impression.

A process where various elements of advertising campaigns, such as the visuals, copy or design, are evaluated for their effectiveness to be sure they are reaching their target audience.

The process of collecting data on interactions participants have made with online advertisements. Tools such as cookies, UTM paramters and tracking pixels are used to measure ad campaign success.

Research to measure how well an advertising campaign achieves its goals, such as brand awareness, engagement, conversions, or sales. It is typically evaluated through metrics like reach, recall, and ROI.

A qualitative analysis technique where researchers group related ideas, themes, or insights into clusters to identify patterns. It is often used in user research, design thinking, and brainstorming sessions.

A research approach emphasising speed, flexibility, and iterative processes. It often leverages digital tools for rapid data collection and analysis. This allows businesses to quickly adapt their strategies based on real-time insights.

AI-Moderation is gaining traction in the market research world. It is a technique making use of artificial intelligence to conduct real-time interviews autonomously and interact with participants like a human moderator would.

A recent development in Sentiment Analysis that uses AI to analyse social media trends, customer reviews, and digital conversations to predict future consumer sentiment and brand perception.

Analysis in market research terms means systematically gathering and interpreting data to discover patterns and trends about a target audience, topic, or industry. These quantitative or qualitative insights can then be used by businesses to make informed decisions on future strategy and mitigate risks.

Stimulus material where key frames for a television, online video or cinema advertisement are computer generated or drawn and shown in research accompanied by a soundtrack to gauge respondents’ reactions before engaging in full production of the ad.

Applied research is an organised way of finding solutions to existing real-world problems. It builds upon existing theories and is used across medicine, social sciences, and business to produce actionable insights.

AQR is an acronym of the Association for Qualitative Research. They are a non-profit organisation with the aim of building a community hub for researchers working within qualitative research and promoting professional standards within the qualitative market research industry.

An articulation question is a method often used within a recruitment screener to establish if a potential participant is able to answer clearly and concisely about a particular topic. Those who follow the instructions given during an articulation question to a high standard are more likely to be chosen to take part in the research project.

Asynchronous research is an approach which involves participants completing tasks individually and in their own time, rather than during a scheduled session or interview. Methodologies using this practice include online bulletin boards, market research online communities and mobile apps. The benefits of using asynchronous research methodologies include more time for thoughtful and in-the-moment feedback, accomodation of different timezones and schedules, and deeper insights that are tracked over a longer period of time.

At-home testing is a research method allowing participants to take a product home with them for testing. Direct-to-consumer (or DTC) self-tests of established products are rapidly gaining popularity in the healthcare sector, and there are significant advantages to using them during the trial stages of a new product or packaging. Participants in the research can be observed using the product in their natural environment, for example, using a new type of kitchen gadget in their own kitchen. The type of insights gathered at home are unreplicatable in a facility setting.

Automotive market research can involve both consumer and B2B research relating to the vehicles and automotives sector. It covers a range of topics, including customers of car dealerships and gas stations to B2B research with car manufacturers and policy makers. FieldworkHub have extensive research in all areas of automotive market research, and have recently supported research on used car buying habits and commercial users of paint finishing products.