Market research glossary

A type of interview where respondents are interviewed in pairs, e.g. business partners, siblings or married couples.

See Market Research Panel.

A form of face-to-face research in which an interviewer asks questions and records the respondents answers on a paper form. This approach has largely been superseded by CAPI in which the interviewer enters the answers directly into a tablet computer (which avoids the need for later transcription of the responses, thus reducing time delays and the possibility of transcription errors). However, PAPI can still be a faster way of collecting data if there is a very limited window of opportunity to interview respondents (e.g. if you want to speak to audience members as they exit from a cinema).

Someone who takes part in market research. Also known as a Respondent.

Gathering consumer data without direct interaction, often through tracking of visits to websites, use of mobile apps, and use of wearables and other connected devices. This method provides insights into behaviour without self-reporting bias.

Patient research is a type of market research conducted within the healthcare sector. Research sessions can trialling new medications or treatments with patients suffering from chronic conditions, or exploring symptoms and daily living experiences of patients in order to improve patient comfort. FieldworkHub have extensive experience recruiting patients for various healthcare research topics.

Personally identifiable information, also known as PII, refers to data that can be used to identify a specific individual. This can include direct identifiers such as name, bank account number, passport number, or driving licence number, as well as indirect identifers such as IP address or date of birth. Market research agencies are responsible for maintaining participants’ privacy and must comply with the data protection regulations that apply to each market that they work in.

Market research dedicated to pets is gaining traction in recent years, as consumer spending on animal care grows. In the UK alone, consumer spending on pets jumped by 76% in the 5 years following the pandemic. FieldworkHub has conducted both consumer research, such as online bulletin boards with dog owners on the brand of dog food they prefer to purchase for their pet, and B2B research, where vets were asked to share their viewpoints on changes within their profession and future policy.

In market research, pie charts are often used within a final report to present what proportion of participants selected a specific response. They are easy to interpret and best for displaying a small number of categories. For more complex values, a bar chart is often a better choice.

A study conducted before a main research exercise. This is used to evaluate elements of a proposed research approach before a full roll out of the study. Pilot studies are routinely used for quantitative studies, typically involving 10% of the full quota, to check that all aspects of the study are running smoothly before proceeding with the rest of the sample. Pilot studies may also be used in large qualitative projects to validate the approach being taken.

A task given to market research participants to complete before taking part in a qualitative market research study, for example completing a diary, filling in a questionnaire, or making a note of their purchases at a supermarket. Pre-tasks aim to ensure that respondents are conscious of the research subject area, allowing for a more focused discussion when the research project commences.

In healthcare research, the proportion of the population with the condition of interest (as opposed to the Incidence rate, which is the proportion of the population which is newly diagnosed with the condition each year).

A technique for determining consumer price preferences. Respondents are asked at what price they would consider a product or service to be cheap, expensive, so cheap that they would doubt the quality and so expensive that they would not consider buying it. The results are plotted as cumulative frequencies (with the cheap and too cheap lines inverted), with the intersection of the cheap and expensive lines often considered to be the optimal price point.

Research geared towards determining how the demand for a product or service will change according to its price point, i.e. the price elasticity of demand for the product or service.

Research conducted directly with subjects of a study (as opposed to Secondary research which involves the collation of pre-existing sources of data). The term is a catch-all, referring to both qualitative and quantitative approaches including focus groups, surveys, field tests and observation.

Also known as probabilistic sampling. A sampling method in which each member of a target population has a known, non-zero probability of being selected. There are a number of probabilistic sampling methods including Random sampling, Stratified sampling, Cluster sampling and Systematic sampling (also known as Interval sampling).

Research undertaken in order to understand how a product or a brand is perceived to be positioned on key attributes relative to competitors or substitutes. Usually carried out to ensure that the product or brand in question can be positioned in the most effective way in the market.

A research method used to evaluate a product’s performance, quality, and usability before it is launched in the market. This helps businesses refine their offerings based on real user feedback.

A technique in which participants are encouraged to articulate their thoughts and feelings about a product or brand by reference to another object or situation. A classic example is the question “if Brand X was an animal, what type of animal would it be?”. Other projective techniques include Word association, sentence completion and Cartoon completion.

A type of question in which respondents are asked how familiar they are with each name on a list of brands. This type of question is often used in Screeners to identify people who know about the client’s brand without revealing who the client is. Sometimes the list includes a small number of made-up brands to help identify respondents who are not concentrating or pretending to be familiar with more brands than they really are.

A method of grouping respondents or consumers who may otherwise be very different, in terms of similar psychological characteristics such as their attitudes, values, outlook or fears. A simple example would be to categorise people as novelty-seekers or traditionalists. Identifying these characteristics can form the basis for segmentation and targeting. Psychographic segments are typically identifed by performing Cluster analysis on the results of an online survey of the target audience.