Marketing Research Glossary - C

Calibration of Models: Calibrating models with known sales and share data can improve the predictive power of marketing models. Decision Analyst’s choice models and Conceptor® volumetric forecasting models are calibrated to product category sales volumes and brand shares. Volumetric Forecasting Services

California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA): A legal framework that sets guidelines for the collection and processing of personal information from individuals who live in California, USA.

Call Disposition: A set of codes and statistics on the outcomes of telephone calls to survey respondents and potential survey respondents.

Callback: A second or third (etc.) attempt to reach a person to conduct a survey. Callbacks are important so that everyone in the primary sample has a chance of being included in the survey.

Cannibalization: A new product taking sales volume away from another product made by the same company.

Canonical Analysis: An extension of Multiple Regression Analysis that deals with two sets of dependent variables.

CAPI (Computer-Aided Personal Interviewing): Interviewer-administered surveying using a computer-based questionnaire.

Card: Also called an IBM Card. Eighty-column punched-card format, represented as a binary file. This was the standard in the research industry for many years. Datafiles are now defined by systems, applications, or users. Some common data file formats in the research industry are SPSS, Excel, Delimited, or CSV (Comma Separated Values).

CART (Classification And Regression Tree): An algorithm for decision-tree modeling; see Decision-Tree Models. A data-mining tool and/or a decision support tool which constructs diagrams made up of (nonterminal) nodes at test/decision points and terminal nodes at decision outcomes. The resulting tree shows all possible outcomes from an initial set of conditions, based on the assumed decision criteria.

Cartoon Tests: Tests in which the respondent fills in the dialogue for a character in a cartoon. This is a type of projective technique.

CASI (Computer-Aided Self-Administered Interviewing): Self-administered surveying using a computer-based questionnaire.

CASRO (Council of American Survey Research Organizations): Formerly a worldwide trade organization for firms actively involved with marketing and opinion research. Decision Analyst, as a member of CASRO (www.casro.org), must adhere to prescribed quality standards and CASRO’s Code of Ethics. In 2017, CASRO merged with the MRA and is now referred to as the Insights Association.

CASS (Coding Accuracy Support System) Certification: A system designed to improve the accuracy of U.S. mailing addresses. CASS software ensures that mailing addresses meet the standards of the U.S. Postal Service.

Categorical Scale: : A scale that asks respondents to choose from a limited number of pre-coded answer choices. There are three main types of categorical scales: Semantic Differential, Stapel, and Likert Scales.

Category Usage: A question used to record whether a potential respondent uses a particular product category. Many studies are limited to users of a particular product category.

Cathode-Ray Tube (CRT): A term for a now-obsolete type of computer display terminal consisting of only a keyboard and a computer display that utilized a cathode-ray tube (CRT). (CRTs were historically used for telephone interviewing in the marketing research industry).

CATI (Computer-Aided Telephone Interviewing): Interviewer-administered telephone surveys using a computer-based questionnaire.

Causal Research: Research designed to determine whether a change in one or more variables is responsible for a change in another variable. Decision Analyst rigorously pursues the science of marketing research and the measurement of “cause and effect.”

Causation: The determination that a change in one or more variables is responsible for a change in the dependent variable.

CAWI (Computer-Aided Web Interviewing): A rarely used term for a self-administered questionnaire that is presented to respondents via a webpage.

CBC (Choice-Based Conjoint): Also known as Choice Modeling. It is a multivariate statistical technique used to simulate real-world consumer purchasing behavior. Discrete Choice and Volumetric Choice are examples of choice-based conjoint techniques.

CBSA (Core-Based Statistical Area): The U.S. Census Bureau defines this as one or more adjacent counties or county equivalents that have at least one urban center of at least 10,000 people, plus adjacent territory that has a high degree of social and economic integration with the urban core. CBSA refers to both metropolitan statistical areas and to newly created micropolitan areas.

CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act): A legal framework that sets guidelines for the collection and processing of personal information from individuals who live in California.

Cell: An individual element that is part of a sample. For example, a sample of men and women in two markets would have four sample cells: men, market one; men, market two; women, market one; women, market two. Sampling cell is very similar in meaning to a Sampling Strata. The cell is the smallest element in a sample.

Cell Assignment: The process of assigning respondents to sample cells, according to various criteria and rules.

Cell Size: The number of respondents in a sample cell. A typical sample will have many cells.

Census: A count or enumeration of every member of a population or universe.

Census Areas: Areas defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, including four census regions and nine census divisions.

Census Block Group: Also referred to as a Block Group. Clusters of blocks grouped by the Census Bureau. There are over 200,000 Census Block Groups in the U.S. Each Block Group contains roughly 500 to 1,000 households.

Census Data: U.S. Census data, based on an enumeration of the U.S. population every 10 years.

Census Divisions: The nine census divisions (groupings of U.S. states) are:

  • New England (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont)
  • Middle Atlantic (New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania)
  • South Atlantic (Delaware, Florida, District of Columbia, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia)
  • East South Central (Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee)
  • West South Central (Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas)
  • East North Central (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin)
  • West North Central (Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota)
  • Mountain (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming)
  • Pacific (Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington)
 

Census Regions: The four census regions (groupings of U.S. states) are:

  • Northeast (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont)
  • South (Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, District of Columbia, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia)
  • Midwest (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin)
  • West (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming)
 

Census Tract: An area within a zip code containing between 2,500 and 8,000 residents. These areas are defined by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Census Undercount: The percentage of the U.S. population, or the number of people, who are not counted during a U.S. Census.

Central Limit Theorem: This theorem asserts that the distribution of sample means will converge to a normal distribution as n increases (n = sample size), regardless of the actual distribution of the population from which the samples are drawn.

Central-Location Study: A survey conducted at a conveniently located site (a mall, an office, a church, etc.) to which respondents are recruited to participate in a research study.

Central-Location Telephone Interviewing: Telephone interviewers work in a building and make telephone calls from there, as contrasted to interviewers calling from their homes..

Centroids: Geographic points marking the approximate centers of populations within the 200,000+ block groups and enumeration districts in the U.S. More generally, a centroid is the point whose coordinates are the arithmetic means of the coordinates of the points making up the figure, mass, body, population, or other entity of interest.

CES (Consumer Expenditure Surveys): An ongoing survey by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on the spending patterns of U.S. consumers.

CHAID (Chi-square Automatic Interaction Detection): An algorithm for decision-tree modeling; see Decision-Tree Models. A data-mining tool and/or a decision-support tool that constructs diagrams made up of nonterminal nodes at test/decision points and at decision outcomes (terminal nodes). The resulting tree shows all possible outcomes from an initial set of conditions, based on the assumed decision criteria.

Chance Variation: The variance in a variable based solely on chance or randomness. Same meaning as Random Variation.

Chat Room: An online environment where participants from different locations can interact. At Decision Analyst, chat rooms were sometimes used as an online site where focus-group participants met to participate in real-time discussions. (Outdated and no longer used utilized at Decision Analyst)

Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA): A Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) consumer protection act initiated in 1998 that imposes certain requirements on operators of websites or online services directed to children under 13 years of age and requires those websites to comply with Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

Chip Game: A data-collection exercise to measure how much a respondent prefers one thing over another (e.g., products, ads, or promotions). Generally, each respondent is given a fixed number of “poker chips” or “monetary chips” to allocate between two or more choices to indicate degree of preference. The more chips allocated to a choice, the more important that choice is.

Chi-square Automatic Interaction Detection (CHAID): An algorithm for decision-tree modeling; see Decision-Tree Models. A data-mining tool and/or a decision-support tool that constructs diagrams made up of nonterminal nodes at test/decision points and at decision outcomes (terminal nodes). The resulting tree shows all possible outcomes from an initial set of conditions, based on the assumed decision criteria.

Chi-Square Test: A statistical test of the fit between an observed distribution and the expected distribution of a variable..

Choice-Based Conjoint (CBC): Also known as Choice Modeling. It is a multivariate statistical technique used to simulate real-world consumer purchasing behavior. Discrete Choice and Volumetric Choice are examples of choice-based conjoint techniques.

Choice Modeling: Also known as Choice-Based Conjoint. A multivariate statistical technique used to simulate real-world consumer purchasing behavior. Discrete Choice and Volumetric Choice are examples of choice-modeling techniques. Choice Modeling Services

ChoiceModelR™: An open-source software package written in the R language by Decision Analyst statistical programmers. It is designed to analyze data from choice modeling experiments across a wide array of industries. Download Decision Analyst's ChoiceModelR™

Choropleth Maps: Computer-generated maps that use various levels of shading to illustrate concentrations, densities, or patterns (for example, population density or levels of unemployment).

Christmas Tree Pattern: A symptom of respondent fatigue or disinterest, especially in online surveys. When the responses for all questions in a question block (or Grid) are zig-zagged to look like a Christmas tree or some other repetitive pattern. Typically, structured patterns of responses indicate respondent fatigue or cheating.

Churn: The percentage of panelists who leave an online research panel during a given time period. Churn is caused by changes in ISPs, new email addresses, moving to a new home, and many other reasons.

Clarifying: A follow-up technique for getting complete responses to open-ended questions by asking respondents to explain specific terms or words in their answers. An example of clarifying: “You indicate that you prefer the taste of Product A. What is there about the taste of Product A that you like?” A similar (but slightly different) term is Probing.

Classification And Regression Tree: An algorithm for decision-tree modeling; see Decision Tree Model. A data-mining tool and/or a decision support tool which constructs diagrams made up of nonterminal nodes at test/decision points and at decision outcomes (terminal nodes). The resulting tree shows all possible outcomes from an initial set of conditions, based on the assumed decision criteria.

Cleaning: A series of processes and procedures to identify and eliminate bad data from a datafile, including “out of range” variables, logical inconsistencies, skip-pattern errors, etc. Decision Analyst’s Tabulation Department follows a 20-point checklist to clean every study datafile. For paper questionnaires, some of the cleaning takes place during the editing process.

Click-Through Rate (CTR): The percentage of people invited to participate in an online survey who start the screener, whether they complete it or the survey. Similar to the term Response Rate.

Click Balancing: Also called Balanced Clicks. Balanced nationally represented sample; that is, the number of clicks (i.e., the number of people entering a survey) is balanced to match the general demographic profiles of the target market or target audience.

Click To Population (CTP): A sample screened to represent a particular population or universe.

Clinical Focus Groups: Focus groups to explore subconscious or unconscious motivations. Such groups can also be characterized as Motivational Research. Qualitative Research Services.

Closed-Ended Or Closed-End Questions: Questions that ask a respondent to choose from a list of pre-coded answers (e.g., “Yes” or “No”; “Excellent,” “Good,” “Fair” or “Poor”).

Cluster Analysis: Procedures for grouping objects or people into some number of mutually exclusive groups based on two or more classification variables (often used to determine segments in market segmentation studies). Advanced Analytic Services

Cluster Sampling: A sampling approach used in door-to-door interviewing in which “clusters” are randomly selected (e.g., a sample of city blocks) to represent a larger geographic area. Cluster sampling reduces the cost of door-to-door interviewing.

CMSA (Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area): A cluster of primary metropolitan statistical areas (PMSAs), such as Minneapolis-St. Paul or the Dallas-Fort Worth area. CMSA markets are made up of 2 or more PMSAs with a combined population over 1 million.

Code: Usually called an Answer Code. A unique number associated with an answer in a survey. Each answer has an answer code. As a verb, “code” means to define and categorize answers to Open-Ended Questions. Code is also used as a reference to computer code (lines of software statements).

Code As You Go: The practice of setting codes as a study progresses and the open-ended questions are coded.

Code Of Ethics: Guidelines for making ethical decisions. For example, Decision Analyst is a member of the Insights Association and must abide by the Insights Association’s rigorous standards and Code of Ethics in the conduct of all marketing research projects.

Codebook: Also called Codeframe. Refers to the list of codes created to summarize the responses to an open-ended question.

Codeframe: Also called Codebook. Refers to the list of codes created to summarize the responses to an open-ended question. Multilingual Coding Services

Codesheet (Paper): A list of codes and corresponding code numbers in ASCII or binary format for paper questionnaires.

Coding: The process of assigning numeric codes to the various answers to open-ended questions and other-specify questions or to other textual data.

Coding Accuracy Support System Certification (CASS Certification): A system designed to improve the accuracy of U.S. mailing addresses. CASS software ensures that mailing addresses meet the standards of the U.S. Postal Service.

Coefficient Of Determination (R Squared): The percentage of the total variation in the dependent variable explained by the independent variables.

Cognitive Component Of Attitudes: An individual’s knowledge and assumptions about a subject or object.

Cognitive Dissonance: The psychological conflict that sometimes arises after a major purchase decision (e.g., the purchase of a car or a house). It’s the anxiety or fear that one might have made the wrong choice, and it’s too late to undo the decision. To eliminate this conflict or dissonance, the buyer will often seek to rationalize his/her choice by searching for and remembering all of the positives about the choice and ignoring all of the disadvantages.

Cohort: A group of individuals having statistical similarities in a demographic study.

Cohort Measures: Analysis over an extended time period of the activity of a cohort, a group whose members experience an event within a particular time period.

Collinearity: The correlation among independent variables. Collinearity can bias estimates of regression coefficients. Decision Analyst has developed regression-like procedures that circumvent the problems inherent in collinearity.

Column: Any vertical array of data or text.

Column Binary: An obsolete system; it allowed more than one code (or more than one answer) to be entered into one column on an IBM Card. Column binary used codes 0 through 9, plus X and Y. Therefore, up to 12 answers could be punched into each column.

Communities: Small groups of consumers (generally less than 500 members) who agree to be respondents and advisors for a client company for a given time period (typically less than a year). During that time, the members of the community might participate in surveys, group discussions, or ideation sessions.

Comparative Scales: Sets of answer choices that permit one product, brand, attribute, etc., to be compared to other products, brands, or attributes.

Competitive Benchmarking: Understanding a company’s strengths and weaknesses as compared to major competitors. Surveys among consumers are typically used to measure these types of comparisons.

Completes Per Hour (CPH): The number of interviews completed per hour of telephone interviewing (sometimes used for mall-intercept interviewing as well). Factors influencing CPH are relevance of sample, study incidence, interview length, screener length, and cooperation rates.

Completion Rate: The percentage of qualified respondents who complete the entire survey.

Completions: Questionnaires (or surveys) that are completed (i.e., all or large percentage of questions are answered) and included in the final datafile for a research study.

Computer-Aided Personal Interviewing (CAPI): Interviewer-administered surveying using a computer-based questionnaire.

Computer-Aided Self-Administered Interviewing (CASI): Self-administered surveying using a computer-based questionnaire.

Computer-Aided Telephone Interviewing (CATI): Interviewer-administered telephone surveys using a computer-based questionnaire.

Computer-Aided Web Interviewing (CAWI): A self-administered questionnaire presented to respondents via a webpage. (A rarely used term)

Concentric Circles: A series of circles about a point. Generally used in retail analyses to answer questions, such as “What percent of customers come from a 5-mile radius to a store? A 10-mile radius? A 20-mile radius?” The concept of concentric circles (think of a rifle target) is also used in describing target markets, with the highest value target being the bullseye.

Concept: A description of a new product, new positioning, or new advertisement, often with some type of illustration to reinforce key points. Looks like print ad, typically. Concept Testing Services

Concept Board: A test-ready Concept that can be easily shown to clients or to consumers during an interview. The concept is described and illustrated and mounted on cardboard, so it can be displayed, handed to a respondent, etc. Concept Testing

Concept Description: Also referred to as Concept Statement. A brief description of a new product or service (usually without any pictures or illustrations). Concept Testing Services

Concept Statement: A brief written description of a new product, service, or ad (usually without any pictures or illustrations). Also referred to as Concept Description. Concept Testing Services

Concept Test: A survey to measure target-market consumers’ reactions to a new product, new service, new positioning, or new advertising idea. Typical sample sizes range from 150 to 300. Concept Testing Services

Concept-Usage Test (CUT): A European term for the process of using a concept to identify those interested in a product and then placing the product in those households for in-home usage testing. Concept Testing Services

ConceptCheck®: Decision Analyst’s proprietary, online system designed to provide detailed consumer reactions to early-stage new product concepts. ConceptCheck® Services

Conceptor® Volumetric Forecasting: The results from ConceptTest®, combined with marketing plan data and target market size, can be entered into Decision Analyst’s Conceptor® models to predict a new product’s retail sales during its first year of introduction. Volumetric Forecasting Services

ConceptScreen®: Decision Analyst’s proprietary, online new product concept testing system, designed for embryonic new product concepts. ConceptScreen® identifies the ideas that are good enough to pursue. ConceptScreen® Services

ConceptTest®: Decision Analyst’s comprehensive, proprietary online system to provide consumer feedback about a new product concept and predict the likelihood that it has the potential to succeed in the marketplace. ConceptTest® Services

Conclusions: The major, overarching findings of a research study. Typically, conclusions are summarized before, and set the stage for, the recommendations in a research report.

Concomitant Variation: A predictable statistical relationship between two variables.

Concurrent Validity: The degree to which a variable, measured at the same point in time as the variable of interest, can be predicted by a measurement instrument that has been validated previously.

Conditional Probability: A probability dependent on, or influenced by, other events or circumstances. An example of conditional probability is the probability of drawing an ace from a deck of cards, when two cards have already been drawn (and neither card was an ace). The probability of drawing an ace is “conditioned” by the number of non-ace cards already drawn.

Confidence Intervals: The range around a survey percentage, plus or minus, that is likely to contain the population parameter (the correct answer).

Confidence Level: The probability that a given statistical range or interval will include the population parameter.

Confidentiality: : As used in the research industry, Confidentiality usually means protecting:

  • A client’s confidential information (such as new product plans, research findings, marketing plans, etc.) from unauthorized disclosure to any third party.
  • A respondent’s information and answers from disclosure, as well as protecting their identity, privacy, and personal information.
 

Confirmation Email: To create its double-opt-in panels, Decision Analyst sends a confirmation email to prospective panelists who have registered to become members. Only after prospective members click on these confirmation emails do they become full-fledged members of Decision Analyst’s panels. In effect, prospective panelists have to register and then confirm by email that they really do want to become members.

Confounded Variables: Two variables are said to be confounded when the effects of one variable cannot be separated or distinguished from the effects of the other variable.

Conjoint Analysis: A multivariate statistical technique that is used to measure the relative value of product attributes. The method involves rating or ranking subsets of attribute levels, evaluated jointly, such that it forces trade-off decisions based on judgments about the value of each attribute and level. As a result, the relative utility of each level of each attribute can be computed. Choice Modeling, also known as Choice-Based Conjoint (CBC), is a form of conjoint analysis. Choice Modeling Services

Conjoint Association: A qualitative moderation technique in which participants are asked to choose between two hypothetical products or services, each with different attributes or features. The objective is to stimulate discussion about the various attributes to better understand the relative importance of each attribute.

Consideration Set: The notion of a “consideration set” is very similar in meaning to Evoked Set, the brands that spontaneously come to mind during a series of open-ended awareness and usage questions. Consideration Set implies that the consumer would consider buying a particular product or brand.

Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA): A cluster of primary metropolitan statistical areas (PMSAs), such as Minneapolis-St. Paul or the Dallas-Fort Worth area. CMSA markets are made up of two or more PMSAs with a combined population of 1 million or more people.

Constant: : A value in an equation that is always the same, as contrasted with a Variable (whose value can change).

Constant Sum Scales: Scales that allow a respondent to divide up points, votes, or chips (typically 10 to 100) among two or more attributes or two or more products to indicate relative importance.

Construct: A working hypothesis or a tentative theory.

Construct Validity: If a theoretical concept or working hypothesis (a Construct) is accurately measured by a question, scale, procedure, or device, then construct validity is achieved.

Consumer: The ultimate user of a product or service. Influencing ultimate consumers is the goal of all marketing activities and efforts.

Consumer Drawings: A projective qualitative technique often used in focus groups and depth interviews. Respondents are asked to draw pictures to represent how they feel and think about a question or topic.

Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES): An ongoing survey by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on the spending patterns of U.S. consumers.

Consumer Expenditures: The money consumers spend on goods and services.

Consumer Insights Aggregator: A company that acquires, catalogs, reformats, segments, and resells reports already published by marketing research firms.

Consumer Insights Department: Departments of major corporations that conduct, or supervise the conduct of, marketing research projects and data analyses. Sometimes referred to as Marketing Research Department or Strategy and Insights Department.

Consumer Insights Objective: A statement of the overarching business purpose for a research project. It answers the question, “What problem is the research to solve?”

Consumer Orientation: Sometimes referred to as Marketing Orientation. The notion that the consumer is at the center of the business universe, and all business and marketing efforts must be focused on understanding and satisfying the consumer.

Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG): The term that refers to packaged groceries, packaged beverages, packaged health and beauty products, etc. These tend to be consumable goods, as opposed to durable goods. (Fast-Moving Consumer Goods [FMCG] is the term used in Europe.) Almost all packaged products sold in supermarkets, mass merchandisers, discount chains, etc., fall within the CPG definition.

Consumer Panel: Sometimes referred to as an Access Panel. A database of consumers who have agreed to take part in surveys. Typically, these consumers register and share information about their households; this information is then used in sample selection. American Consumer Opinion® Online is Decision Analyst’s worldwide consumer panel with several million members. American Consumer Opinion® Online

Consumer Price Index (CPI): The CPI is published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and compares the prices consumers pay for a market basket of goods and services currently, versus some reference time period in the past. Definitions and calculation methods change over time, so be very careful in analyzing price changes over long periods of time.

Consumer Unit: The Bureau of Labor Statistics defines a consumer unit as consisting of any of the following: (1) all members of a particular household who are related by blood, marriage, adoption, or other legal arrangements; (2) a person living alone or sharing a household with others or living as a roomer in a private home or lodging house or in permanent living quarters in a hotel or motel, but who is financially independent; or (3) two or more persons living together who use their incomes to make joint expenditure decisions. The terms consumer unit, family, and household are often used interchangeably for convenience. However, the proper technical term for purposes of the Consumer Expenditure Survey is consumer unit.

Contact: Some type of communication with a potential respondent about participation in an upcoming survey.

Contact Rate: The percent of the total sample that was contacted (i.e., communicated with) for a survey.

Contamination: The many types of issues posing risks to survey accuracy. Examples: The people included in the sample might not represent the sampling universe. The order of questions might contaminate answers to later questions. The information learned in testing Ad A might contaminate the respondent’s evaluation of Ad B.

Content Analysis: Another term for coding open-ended questions or textual data. A technique used to analyze respondents’ answers to open-end questions by assigning numerical codes to responses, so that all similar answers can be grouped together and tabulated.

Continuous Panel: A consumer panel in which the same respondents are either sampled repeatedly for successive surveys or asked to record their behavior and purchases in diaries on a continuous basis. See Diary Panels.

Continuous Variable: A quantitative variable that can assume an infinite number of values or many values, without any gaps or omissions. This variable can have a defined interval (i.e., a lower limit and an upper limit).

Contractor Advisory Board®: Decision Analyst’s international panel of general contractors and subcontractors from all segments of the building and construction industry. Contractor Advisory Board®

Control And Test: A basic research design involving two matched samples. One sample is the control group or benchmark (the point of comparison). The second sample is the test group. The test group typically receives some type of stimulus, and both groups are then measured with the same questionnaire or instrument. Likewise, a control concept can often be included in a batch of test concepts in a dependent research design (that is, in a design which allows each respondent to see multiple concepts).

Control Cell Or Control Group: A set of respondents that receives the normal treatment (or no treatment) and provides a basis of comparison to the test or experimental group that receives the test or experimental treatment. An experimental “treatment” is the thing being tested (a new ad, a new package, a new message, etc.

Controlled Substitutions: Substituting new respondents (selected according to the same sampling criteria) for respondents in the original sample who did not respond.

Convenience Samples: Samples selected primarily for reasons of convenience (e.g., a professor who interviews his students).

Convergent Validity: The degree of association among different measurement instruments (questionnaires, devices, Point-of-Sale systems, etc.) that purport to measure the same concept.

Cookie: Also called an HTTP Cookie or Web Cookie. A small bit of text sent by a server and stored in a web browser. Each time the browser accesses the server, the cookie is recognized and read by the server. This enables the server to know who is entering the website, along with information about that person’s past and preferences. (Magic cookie, a term used in UNIX computing, is the source of the term cookie.)

Co-Op Payment: The money or incentive given to respondents to encourage their participation in focus groups, depth interviews, mall-intercept interviews, or online surveys. (Dated term that’s rarely used)

Cooperation Rate: The percentage of qualified respondents who agree to participate in a research project.

COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act): A Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) consumer protection act initiated in 1998 that imposes certain requirements on operators of websites or online services directed to children under 13 years of age and requires those websites to comply with Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (www.coppa.org).

Copy Testing: Another term for Advertising Testing or Advertising Research. Since newspapers and magazines were the first major, modern advertising media, advertising research was largely the study of copy or text (hence the term Copy Testing). CopyTest® is a registered trademark of Decision Analyst and refers to our industry-leading advertising research system for the testing of television and radio commercials, print ads, and digital ads. Advertising Research Services

CopyCheck®: Decision Analyst’s proprietary, online system to help evaluate and improve advertising concepts, early-stage print or digital ads, TV storyboards, and radio scripts. CopyCheck® provides not only a directional estimate of an ad’s probable effectiveness but also insightful diagnostic feedback. CopyCheck® Services

CopyScreen®: Decision Analyst’s proprietary online system to evaluate embryonic advertising concepts or ideas in a print ad format. CopyScreen® identifies the ideas that are good enough for further development and testing. CopyScreen® Services

CopyTest®: Decision Analyst’s proprietary, comprehensive, online advertising pretesting system to predict the effectiveness of rough to finished commercials and advertisements. CopyTest® Services

CopyTrack®: Decision Analyst’s proprietary, online advertising tracking system, composed of standard modules, for evaluating awareness and message impact of advertising in real-world environments. The data are collected via continuous, or pulsed, online interviews. CopyTrack® is tailored to the product category and the client’s objectives and is designed to accurately measure an advertising campaign’s long-term effects. CopyTrack® Services

Core-Based Statistical Area (CBSA): The U.S. Census Bureau defines a core-based statistical area as one or more adjacent counties or county equivalents that have at least one urban center of at least 10,000 people, plus adjacent territory that has a high degree of social and economic integration with the urban core. CBSA refers to both metropolitan statistical areas and to newly created micropolitan areas.

Corporate Marketing Research Departments: Departments of major corporations that conduct, or supervise the conduct of, marketing research projects and data analyses. Sometimes referred to as Consumer Insights Department or Strategy and Insights Department.

Correlation Analysis: The measurement of the degree to which changes in one variable are correlated to, or associated with, changes in another variable.

Correspondence Analysis: A type of perceptual-mapping technique. In a survey, respondents are asked to identify only the attributes that correspond with the subject of the study, then the data are used to build a perceptual map.

Cost Per Action (CPA): A term used by digital traffic providers to signify the way they will charge for traffic delivery, based on a predefined action, such as registering or completing a survey.

Cost Per Click (CPC): Some suppliers of online traffic to routers charge by the number of clicks into the router versus charging per interview. Is also a term used by digital traffic providers.

Cost Per Interview (CPI): The total cost of a marketing research project divided by the total number of completed interviews.

Cost Per Recruit (CPR): The average cost to recruit a participant for a depth interview, a focus group, or other types of research. Cost per recruit is also used to convey the average cost of recruiting members of online panels.

Cost Per Thousand (CPM): A term that originated in print advertising. It means the cost of the print media advertising divided by the number of potential readers (the publication’s circulation). Term is now used in radio, television, and other media.

Council of American Survey Research Organizations (CASRO): Now called the Insights Association (CASARO merged with the MRA in 2017). A worldwide trade organization for firms actively involved with marketing and opinion research. Decision Analyst, as a member of the Insights Association (www.insightsassociation.org/), must adhere to their prescribed quality standards and Code of Ethics.

Counting In Questionnaires: The process of counting paper questionnaires and checking to make sure each respondent meets the required qualifications and sampling specifications.

County Size: A one-letter code (A, B, C, or D), originally created by the A. C. Nielsen Company, to indicate county size. The A counties are the largest and most urban, while the D counties are the most rural. The county (or consolidated) areas are determined by the Federal Government Office of Management and Budget. Here are more precise definitions.

  • A County: Any county located in the 25 largest U.S. cities or their consolidated statistical urban areas.
  • B County: Any county (not designated as an A County) that has a population of over 150,000 or is part of a consolidated statistical area with a population of over 150,000.
  • C County: Any county or consolidated statistical area (not designated as an A or B County) that has a population over 40,000.
  • D County: Any county statistical area not designated as an A, B, or C County.
 

CPA (Cost Per Action): A term used by digital traffic providers to indicate how much they will charge for people who register for a panel or agree to complete a survey.

CPC (Cost Per Click): Some suppliers of online traffic to routers charge by the number of clicks into the router versus charging per interview. A term used by digital traffic providers.

CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods): The term used in the U.S.to refer to packaged groceries, packaged beverages, packaged health and beauty products, etc. Almost all packaged products sold in supermarkets, mass merchandisers, discount chains, etc., fall within the CPG definition. Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) is the term used in Europe. These consumer goods tend to be consumable goods, as opposed to durable goods.

CPH (Completes Per Hour): A term used primarily for mall-intercept and telephone interviewing. Refers to the number of completed interviews an interviewer can achieve in 60 minutes.

CPI (Consumer Price Index): The CPI is published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and compares the prices consumers pay for a market basket of goods and services currently, versus some reference time period in the past. Definitions and calculation methods change over time, so be very careful in analyzing price changes over long periods of time.

CPI (Cost Per Interview): The total cost of a marketing research project divided by the total number of completed interviews.

CPM (Cost Per Thousand): A term that originated in print advertising. It means the cost of the print media advertising divided by the number of potential readers (the publication’s circulation). Term is now used in radio, television, and other media.

CPR (Cost Per Recruit): The average cost to recruit a participant for a depth interview, a focus group, or other types of research. Cost per recruit is also used to convey the average cost of recruiting members of online panels.

CPS (Creative Problem Solving): A suite of creative problem-solving methods and training offered by Decision Analyst’s Innovation Team. Innovation Services

CPS (Current Population Survey): A survey of 50,000 households per month conducted by the Census Bureau to track changes in population characteristics between the decennial censuses.

Creative Problem Solving (CPS): ): A suite of creative problem-solving methods and training offered by Decision Analyst’s Innovation Team. Innovation Services

Criterion Variable: Also known as the Dependent Variable or Response Variable. The criterion variable is the variable that is being predicted or explained.

Criterion-Related Validity: The degree to which a questionnaire and/or a data set and/or a mathematical model can explain or accurately predict a criterion variable.

Critical Industry Restriction: Also known as Security Question or Security Screen. A screening question to exclude potential respondents who are employed in marketing and advertising industries or employed in an industry directly related to the topic of the survey.

CRM (Customer Relationship Management): A system or process that tracks all the interactions (sales, marketing, customer service, support, etc.) an organization has with customers. These systems are used to manage client relationships, to measure return on investment (ROI), and for data mining.

Cross-Classification Analysis: An analysis technique used with qualitative or categorical data that classifies each respondent according to two or more mutually exclusive and exhaustive qualitative variables. Quantitative variables are sometimes used in classification analysis when transformed into categorical variables by converting ranges of numeric variables (income, height, weight, etc.) into categories (high income versus low income, tall versus short, and so on).

Cross-Cultural Analysis: The collection and analysis of data that compares the findings from different countries (or different cultures).

Cross-Elasticity or Cross-Price Elasticity: A measure of the change in the number of units of one product demanded in response to a price change of a second product. The term can also be used more loosely to refer to the change in the demand for one product as the result of some change in another product. For example, the demand for new cars might go up as the price of gasoline goes down. Another example: the demand for rice might increase if the price of potatoes goes up.

Cross-validation: Also referred to as a Holdout Data Set, or a Control Data Set. A process for validating the results of a predictive model by dividing the original dataset into a Holdout subset and a Test or Model Development subset.

Cross-Tabulation: A method to break out answers to questions by different groups of people (e.g., men versus women, city A versus city B, young versus old, respondents who saw Ad A versus those who saw Ad B, and so forth).

CRT (Cathode-Ray Tube): A computer terminal with only a keyboard and monitor (historically used for telephone interviewing in the marketing research industry). This term is no longer in use.

CTP (Click to Population): A sample screened to represent a particular population or universe.

CTR (Click-Through Rate): The percentage of people invited to participate in an online survey that start the screener, regardless of whether they complete it or the survey. Similar to the term Response Rate.

Culture: The total sum of beliefs, values, and customs that make us a society. For example, culture includes language(s) spoken, manner of dress, types of music, social customs, religious faith, and taboos.

Current Population Survey (CPS): A survey of 50,000 households per month conducted by the Census Bureau to track changes in population characteristics between the decennial censuses.

Custom Marketing Research: Also referred to as Ad Hoc Research. Research designed to address the specific needs or problems of a given client (i.e., research custom-designed to solve a specific problem).

Customer Experience (CX): The summation of customers' perceptions and feelings resulting from interactions with a brand's products and services. Customer Experience Research

Customer Experience Optimization: The basic idea is to carefully research all the touchpoints and interactions customers have with a company and its products and/or services, so that the company can improve (or optimize) each of these interactions to maximizes the customer’s satisfaction with the company. Customer Experience Optimization Services

Customer Loyalty Research: Research to understand and measure the loyalty of customers to a company and its products and services. Qualitative research is often a major component of loyalty research because deeper motivations are often major factors in a customer’s loyalty or lack thereof. Many companies do long-term, repetitive surveys to track customer loyalty and the drivers of customer loyalty. Related to Customer Experience Optimization and Customer Satisfaction Research. Customer Optimization Research

Customer Relationship Management (CRM): A system or process that tracks all the interactions (sales, marketing, customer service, support, etc.) an organization has with customers. These systems are used to manage client relationships, to measure return on investment (ROI), and for data mining.

Customer Satisfaction Research: Survey research conducted to measure satisfaction with a product or service and related variables. Typically, these are long-term tracking studies, so that changes can be monitored over time. Related to Customer Loyalty Research. Customer Optimization Research Services

Customer Value Analysis: An exploration of the lifetime value of customers based on how much they spend and how long they are likely to stay as customers. Specifically, the analysis allows companies to know which customers are most profitable and valuable over time.

CUT (Concept-Usage Test): A European term. Research in which a concept is used to identify those interested in a product, and then the product is placed in those households for in-home usage testing.

CX (Customer Experience): The sum total of customers' perceptions and feelings resulting from interactions with a brand's products and services. Customer Optimization Research Services

Contact Decision Analyst

If you would like more information on Marketing Research, please contact Jerry W. Thomas by emailing jthomas@decisionanalyst.com or calling 1-817-640-6166.