Research Glossary

A/B testing compares two versions of a product, concept, or design to determine which performs better, typically by measuring conversion rates. Widely used in marketing, product development, and UX, it supports data-driven decisions, optimises user experience, and reduces risk through controlled testing of variations on target audiences.

ASTs (accompanied shopping trips) involve a researcher accompanying a shopper in-store to observe and explore real-time purchase behaviour, decision-making, and customer experience. This method reveals rich, contextual insights through observation and in-depth discussion.

Ad hoc research surveys are one-off, tailored research studies used to explore specific questions or issues at a single point in time. Typically conducted online, they help businesses respond quickly to emerging trends or problems, providing actionable insights without the commitment of ongoing tracking or long-term research programmes.

Artefact Analysis is used in social anthropology and is the systematic approach to the analysis of material, aesthetic and interactive qualities of objects. The emphasis of the analysis is on the object itself and is typically used in Qualitative and Ethnographic research studies but also used in Archaeology. Essentially, the researcher effectively is using the analysis to understand what the object(s) say through its material, aesthetic and other physical/practical qualities.

The AQR is a leading UK-based organisation dedicated to advancing qualitative research. It supports professionals through training, networking, and setting industry standards. AQR promotes best practices, innovation, and ethical conduct, helping researchers deliver deeper insights across sectors including marketing, social research, and user experience.

Asynchronous focus groups are online qualitative research discussions where participants contribute at different times over several days. This flexible approach enables thoughtful responses, broader reach across time zones, and deeper insights. Ideal for busy or hard-to-reach audiences, they support multimedia input and are useful for sensitive or exploratory research topics.

B2B market research is an abbreviation of ‘business to business’ research and relates to market research and business intelligence that is carried out by organisations who sell to, or support, other businesses. Unlike consumer or customer research, B2B research is not carried out amongst  members of the public in the same way that respondents to consumer research are.

Behavioural Economics, sometimes referred to as BE in short, is an important discipline for market research companies and clients alike and explores why people sometimes make irrational decisions, and why and how their behavior does not follow the predictions of economic models. Some of the best known individuals in the study of behavioral economics are Nobel laureates Gary Becker, Herbert Simon, Daniel Kahneman and George Akerlof.

Brand Essence is the core values which distinguish a brand. These values will be consistent over time, whereas the execution characteristics of material pieces like the packaging, marketing or the advertising of the product or service can change. By clarifying and setting up a brand essence, it allows the owner of the brand to have a model which all marketing and NPD (New Product Development) will be able to follow and cohesive with the brand’s image.

Brand extension is a marketing strategy where a company uses an established brand name to launch new products in a different category. It leverages existing brand equity to build consumer trust and recognition, reducing launch risk. Successful brand extensions align with core brand values and meet relevant consumer needs.

BPTO is a pricing research method used to measure how price changes affect consumer preference across competing brands. By adjusting prices and tracking choices, it reveals brand value, price elasticity, and willingness to pay—helping businesses optimise pricing strategies and assess brand equity before product launches or pricing reviews.

Brand tracking research monitors consumer perceptions, awareness, usage, and loyalty over time. It helps businesses assess brand health, measure marketing effectiveness, and identify trends or shifts in customer attitudes. Regular brand tracking supports informed decision-making, brand positioning, and strategy development by highlighting strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities in the market.

Bulletin boards are online qualitative research platforms where participants join discussions over time, posting responses, comments, and media. Unlike live focus groups, they offer flexibility, allowing users to engage at their convenience. Ideal for busy or hard-to-reach audiences, they enable rich, in-depth insights across extended periods.

CATI is a telephone research method where interviewers follow a script displayed on a computer. Responses are entered directly into the system, ensuring accuracy and consistency. It’s ideal for structured surveys, quota control, and reaching diverse demographics, offering a cost-effective, flexible approach to quantitative data collection.

Chatbot groups use AI-powered chat interfaces to conduct qualitative research by simulating group discussions. Participants interact with a chatbot individually or in small groups, providing insights through guided questions. This method enables scalable, real-time engagement, is cost-effective, and suits time-poor or tech-savvy audiences in digital environments.

Competitor analysis is the process of evaluating rival businesses to understand their strengths, weaknesses, strategies, and market positioning. It helps companies identify opportunities, benchmark performance, anticipate market trends, and refine their own strategies to gain competitive advantage and improve decision-making across marketing, product development, and brand positioning.

A Customer Panel, also known as a Consumer Panel is a group of individuals volunteering and selected to provide input on products and services for research purposes. Consumer panels are a useful technique to gather customer feedback, test hypotheses, trial new products and services, discover customer behaviours and gain insights.

Customer satisfaction measures how well a product or service meets customer expectations. Customer satisfaction research gathers feedback through surveys and interviews to identify strengths, weaknesses, and improvement areas. It informs business decisions, enhances customer experience, and drives loyalty, making it essential for competitive advantage and long-term success.

Data science is the practice of extracting meaningful insights from large and complex datasets using statistical analysis, programming, and machine learning. In market research, it helps identify patterns, predict behaviours, and support data-driven decision-making across customer segmentation, trend analysis, pricing strategies, and campaign optimisation.

Diary studies are qualitative research methods where participants self-record their experiences, behaviours, or thoughts over time, typically in written, audio, or video formats. Used to capture in-the-moment insights and longitudinal data, they help researchers understand habits, decision-making, and emotional journeys in real-world contexts across days or weeks.

​Electroencephalography or EEG is a neuroscience-based research method that measures electrical activity in the brain using sensors placed on the scalp. In market research, EEG helps assess unconscious emotional and cognitive responses to stimuli such as ads, products, or packaging—providing insights into attention, engagement, and decision-making beyond self-reported data.

Exit interviews are surveys conducted as customers leave a store to capture immediate feedback on their shopping experience. Shopper intercepts involve approaching shoppers in-store to gather real-time opinions. Both methods provide valuable insights into consumer behavior, preferences, and satisfaction, helping businesses improve products, services, and retail strategies.

Eye tracking is a research technique that records where and how long a person looks at visual stimuli, using infrared sensors or cameras. In market research, it reveals attention, visual engagement, and navigation patterns—helping optimise packaging, adverts, websites, and in-store layouts by understanding what truly captures consumer focus.

Facial coding is a research technique that uses AI or biometric software to detect and interpret facial expressions, revealing emotional responses to stimuli like ads or products. It helps uncover subconscious reactions—such as joy, surprise, or confusion—providing deeper insights into consumer engagement and emotional impact.

A viewing facility is a location that has been designed for hosting focus groups, workshops and market research interviews. This facility, otherwise known as a ‘viewing studio’, is typically designed for all parties, including; the research moderator, the respondents (members of the public) and also the end client who commissions the work.

Focus groups and Groups discussions are a qualitative research method where a small group of participants discuss a product, service, or concept, guided by a moderator. It explores attitudes, perceptions, and motivations, providing rich, in-depth insights that help shape marketing strategies, product development, and brand positioning.

fMRI is a neuroscience technique that measures brain activity by detecting changes in blood flow. In market research, it reveals how consumers respond to stimuli—such as ads or products—at a subconscious level, offering deep insights into emotion, attention, and decision-making beyond self-reported data.

The galvanic skin response (GSR) refers to changes in sweat gland activity that are reflective of our emotional arousal. Typically an electrode is applied to the fingers to measure skin conductance, and the higher the skin conductance, the higher the arousal.

Hall tests or Central Location Tests (CLTs) involve gathering consumers in a neutral venue to evaluate products, ads, or packaging. Conducted under controlled conditions, often with blind testing, they provide quick, reliable feedback on sensory appeal or preferences, helping businesses make informed product or marketing decisions.

Heart Rate Variability (HRV) measures the variation between heartbeats, reflecting autonomic nervous system activity. Common metrics include RMSSD, SDNN, and LF/HF ratio. HRV is influenced by stress, sleep, physical activity, and breathing. It’s measured using ECG or PPG, and analyzed via time-domain, frequency-domain, or nonlinear statistical methods in research.

Heuristics are mental shortcuts used to simplify decision-making. Common types include availability, representativeness, anchoring, and affect heuristics. They help speed up judgments but can lead to cognitive biases. Heuristics are essential in everyday thinking, user experience design, and behavioral research, highlighting how humans process information under uncertainty or limited time.

The Implicit Association Test (IAT) measures automatic associations between concepts, revealing implicit biases. It assesses reaction times when pairing categories (e.g., race, gender) with attributes (e.g., good, bad). Faster associations suggest stronger implicit links. Widely used in social psychology, the IAT explores unconscious attitudes affecting perception, judgment, and behaviour.

Reaction time testing combines IRT models with response speed to assess both ability and test-taking behavior. It analyzes how quickly and accurately individuals respond to test items, offering insights into cognitive processing, engagement, and proficiency. Useful in educational and psychological assessments, it enhances test precision and fairness.

In-depth interviews are an excellent way to probe people’s deepest thoughts, feelings, and emotions. They provide brands deep insights to help optimise their messaging, come up with new product ideas or service extensions and understand their barriers to behaviour and behaviour change. The key advantage of an online in-depth is that only the people involved are the interviewer and the interviewee. In this environment, the interviewee is a lot less likely to feel any pressure to conform to group opinion, all the answers they give are not influenced by opinions.

In-home interviewing involves researchers visiting participants’ homes to conduct detailed, face-to-face interviews. This method allows for in-depth understanding of consumer behaviors, product usage, and lifestyle in a natural environment. It provides rich qualitative insights and authentic feedback, often used for product development, ethnographic research, and usability studies.

Data, design, stories and shareability.  Infographics are a really good way for brands to prove through leadership and insight that is supported by data. They also have the chance to be repurposed in a number of ways by being broken into smaller chunks that can live across multiple platforms and channels. The process of an infographic starts with the inspiration and the creation, then it is published, shared, repurposed and analysed.

The ICO is the UK’s independent authority set up to uphold information rights in the public interest, promoting openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals. The ICO is in part responsible for GDPR (General Data Protection Legislation). We live in a data-driven world and GDPR is here for the benefit of everyone in regards to accessing and influencing how companies use your data.

LARIA (Local Area Research and Intelligence Association) is a UK-based organisation supporting local researchers and analysts in public sector services. It promotes the use of research, data, and evidence to inform policy and decision-making. LARIA offers networking, resources, and events to improve outcomes through better local intelligence and community insight.

Market research helps companies achieve success in many ways – in particular enabling them to identify their target consumer, find out what existing and potential buyers think about your product or brand and gather business and consumer insights to help you improve your decision making and overall success. This short article looks at the question – Why do companies do market research?

The UK Market Research Society (MRS) is one of the world’s leading research associations. The MRS has its headquarters in London and is dedicated to the support, promotion and enrichment of the research and business world.

Like Electroencephalography (EEG), mobile EEG is a methodology which records brain activity using small sensors applied to the scalp which picks up the electrical potentials outputted by your brain. This allows researchers to measure the brain’s cognitive processes. ​

Mobile eye tracking is a relatively new invention. It is a sensor technology that can detect a person’s presence and follow what they are looking at in real time, usually involving a pair of glasses with cameras installed.

Mystery Shopping market research is a methodology allowing you to understand your customer’s interactions with the public-facing side of your brand. Mystery Shoppers allow you to understand how your staff are acting and their attitude, which could be letting down high points of your store or the well-placed marketing on a website, to be let down by a phone call.

The Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a measurement looking into the customer experience of a brand and predict business growth. The metric is proven and widely known for transforming the business world and provides brands with the core measurement for customer experience management programs the world around.

Neuromarketing refers to the measurement of physiological and neural signals to gain insight into customers’ motivations, preferences, and decisions, which can help inform creative advertising, product development, pricing, and other marketing areas.

Don’t you sometimes wish you knew what your customers wanted? Or wish you knew how they are attracted to it in the first place? That’s what Observation Market Research is for. It’s a technique that directly observes a chosen target audience; whether it be consumers, suppliers or customers. This could be trying to understand what displays consumers are drawn towards, and what directions they go around the shop. This can help brands understand what works and what doesn’t, maximising the space you have.

Market research agencies and marketers often use the Big Five personality traits to help understand the consumer and to segment customers into personality types. It is also often used by HR professionals to evaluate prospective employees. The Big Five dimensions are considered to be the key underlying traits that make up an individual’s personality. The Big Five traits are often referred to as OCEAN big five – Openness, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism

An Omnibus survey is a quantitative market research method where information on a variety of subjects is collected on the same questionnaire and is used by multiple clients who effectively share the cost of conducting research by sharing the survey costs. It is also sometimes known as ‘Piggyback’ surveys.

Online communites offer valuable spaces for research by fostering authentic, real-time engagement among participants. They enable researchers to gather deep qualitative insights, track evolving opinions, and observe natural interactions. Usin an online community is often cost-effective, flexible, and ideal for longitudinal studies, making them a powerful tool for understanding consumer behaviors and experiences.

Online focus groups provide a convenient and flexible way to gather in-depth qualitative insights from diverse participants. They allow researchers to explore attitudes, perceptions, and motivations in real time, without geographical constraints. Features includ video, chat, and screen sharing enhance engagement and video recording making online focus groups an efficient alternative to in-person sessions.

The Van Westendorp pricing technique, also known as the Price Sensitivity Meter (PSM), is a market research technique used to determine the optimal price point for a product using consumer price preferences and perceptions. The  PSM was developed by Peter Van Westendorp, a Dutch economist in 1976 and is still widely used amongst professional research industry today.

Psychographics play an important role within market research and insight gathering exercises as it essentially the study of personality, values, opinions, attitudes, interests, and lifestyles. Psychographic variables are sometimes confused with demographics which are more factual in nature (e.g. Age, gender, social class, ethnicity etc). At a broader national level, UK psychographics could be seen as an equivalent to the concept of “culture”.

Qualitative Market Research (aka Qual research) is designed to help companies explore and understand people, markets & brands and focuses on understanding and meaning rather than numbers. It tends to be small scale, using both verbal and non-verbal discovery methods. It typically involves numerous data collection approaches including face to face interviews, online qualitative interviewing and observation.

Vision One is delighted to be one of the leading research agencies on the UK’s top review site The Drum Recommends (Previously Recommended Agencies Registrar or RAR+). Only companies who score above our threshold become recommended and are included in the register. The results provide a unique insight into the experiences of other clients with particular suppliers.

The Recruiter Accreditation Scheme, also known as RAS, is a certification developed by the Market Research Society (MRS) alongside the Association for Qualitative Research (AQR). Created to raise the status and profile of recruiters and recognise the skills of professional recruiters.

Serviceable Available Market (SAM) is the portion of the Total Addressable Market (TAM) that a business can realistically target with its products or services, based on geography, customer segments, and product fit. SAM helps entrepreneurs focus resources, set achievable goals, and define practical opportunities within the broader market.

Shadowing is a method of qualitative research that is sometimes incorporated into Accompanied Shopping Trips (ASTs) and involves tracking someone in his or her role to experience the situations of his or her daily life or work in parallel with him or her, collecting insights through the detailed nuance of first hand, real-time exposure. Where possible, shadowing observations should be extremely well documented, with photographs, detailed notes and sketches or audio.

The process involves stopping shoppers, screening them for appropriateness, and either administering a survey (or interview) on the spot or inviting them to a research facility located to complete the interview. While not representative of the population in general, shopping mall customers do constitute a major share of the market for many products.

A shopping journey begins with identifying a need or desire, followed by researching options online or in-store. Consumers compare products, prices, and reviews before making a purchase decision. After buying, they evaluate satisfaction, possibly sharing feedback or returning items. Understanding these steps helps businesses optimise their customer experiences.

Snap Surveys is a leading software supplier to the Market Research industry.

The Social Research Association is the leading voice for social research. They are a UK professional membership body;  led by social researchers, for social researchers. Promoting high-quality standards of social research, seeking to represent, support, connect and inform our members and the wider social research community. The quarterly magazine is called ‘Research Matters’.

When a wide demographic needs to be interviewed, street interviewing is often the fastest and most-effective form of fieldwork.

SWOT analysis in marketing and business will help you decide which marketing strategy you should use to get the best result for your business.

System 1 refers to the brain’s fast, automatic, and intuitive mode of thinking. It operates unconsciously, making quick judgments based on emotions, instincts, and past experiences. In market research and behavioral science.

TAM, SAM, and SOM are tools for sizing markets. TAM is the total demand for a product, SAM is the segment you can realistically serve, and SOM is the share you can capture. Together, they help predict market opportunity, guide strategy, and set achievable growth targets.

Dr Noriaki Kano, an expert and lecturer in the field of quality management laid the foundation for the Kano method in the 1970s and 1980s. his efforts worked to show how improving or adding certain types of product attributes and excluding others can reliably produce higher levels of customer satisfaction.

Usability testing evaluates how easily and effectively users can interact with a product, typically a website or app. By observing real users completing tasks, UX researchers identify usability issues, improve design, and enhance user experience. It ensures products are intuitive, efficient, and aligned with user needs before launch.

You only need to do a quick search to see that people are not sure what a Vox Pop actually is, spelling the brand name wrong is a bigger indicator than anything. The title comes from Latin meaning “voice of the people” and that’s exactly what it is. It’s a compilation of small clips taken from video interviews compiled with members of the public.

Visual Attention Analysis (VAA) or Predictive Eye Tracking (PET) is a new type of neuromarketing technique that uses an AI-based predictive eye tracking analysis system to evaluates the visual effectiveness of stimulus, ranging from branding and advertising to packaging design.

Word clouds are visual representations of text data, where the size of each word reflects its frequency or importance. Commonly used in market research, they help identify key themes, patterns, or sentiments within open-ended responses, making complex data more accessible and easier to interpret at a glance.