Market research glossary

International Chamber of Commerce. Joint publisher of the ICC/Esomar International Code on Market, Opinion and Social Research and Data Analytics.

A research technique that measures subconscious attitudes and biases by analysing reaction times to different stimuli. It is commonly used in brand perception and consumer psychology studies.

Also known as a Depth Interview. An unstructured or semi-structured qualitative interview that probes detailed aspects of attitudes, needs, wants and behaviours. This type of interview is typically undertaken with consumers when the subject matter is sensitive or emotive and therefore inappropriate for larger forums such as focus groups. They are often used in B2B and healthcare market research to gather very specific and detailed feedback from respondents who are experts in their field.

Also known as 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 unreplicable in a facility setting.

A monetary or non-monetary reward given to a market research participant to thank them for giving up their time to take part. Also referred to as an Honorarium in B2B and healthcare market research.

The proportion of the target population that qualify to take part in the study, based on the screening criteria that have been set. This is a key cost driver for market research as it determines the number of people who need to be screened to select the sample. To reduce unnecessary screening, the target population is typically narrowed as far as possible based on information that the research agency already holds about potential respondents such as their age, location, profession or household composition. Note that in healthcare research, incidence rate refers to the rate of newly diagnosed cases in a given period (typically a year). The proportion of people living with a condition, whether newly diagnosed or not, is referred to as Prevalence.

The conclusions drawn from the analysis of research data.

An intercept is a form of voxpop used for gathering public opinion. Often conducted in the street and captured on video, interviewers will approach random members of the public to obtain their raw, spontaneous thoughts on a particular topic.

Spoken translation of a research session from the language it is being conducted in to another language for the benefit of observers. There are two common forms of interpreting: in Simultaneous interpreting (also referred to as Simultaneous translation), the interpreter listens to the person speaking on headphones and speaks into a microphone as the same time – this is the type of interpreting that you may have seen used at meetings of big international organisations such as the United Nations. In Consecutive interpreting (also referred to as Consecutive translation), the interpreter waits for the person speaking to finish a sentence, then translates it while the speaker pauses – this is the type of interpreting that you see on news broadcasts when an interviewer is talking to someone who speaks a different language. Consecutive interpreting doesn’t require any special equipment but it does mean that the research session takes longer.