G

Gain Score is the difference between pre-treatment and post-treatment measurements on a specific variable.
Generalizability is the extent to which inferences can be drawn about the population of interest based on the results of some research done through a sample survey.
Generation X are 18-29 year old post baby-boomers.
Geodemographic Information is based on a combination of demographics (age, gender, life-cycle stage and occupation) with geographical area.
Goodness of Fit Test is a statistical test to determine whether the results from research are consistent with the expected results from a particular hypothesis. Here we do not make any assumption about the shape of the underlying distribution (like normal, Binomial, etc). Examples are: Chi Square goodness of fit and Kolmogorov Smirnov test.
Graphic Rating Scale see continuous rating scale.
Gross Rating Point see television rating.
Group Discussion see focus group.
Group Effect : In a group scenarios where diverse opinions are free to be expressed, some participants tend to moderate their opinions to conform to the views of the rest of the group. In such a case the consensus or the outcome of the discussion may be a forced or skewed towards any one response.
Groupware refers to the computer software that is used to run online group discussions.

H

Hall Test : A group of respondents are recruited to attend a fixed location, often a large room or hall, where they respond - usually as individuals - to a set of stimuli.
Halo Effect is a form of response bias where a respondent carries an overall generalised positive or negative impression from one specific characteristic to the next, eg if a respondent considers a product to be excellent, then he or she is likely to rate the product highly on taste, appearance and texture etc.Hand Tab (aka Manual Tab)is the simplest type of tabulation possible, consisting of a manual count of the answers to certain questions on the questionnaire.
Head of Household is that member of the household who is responsible for the household having that accommodation, either by owning, renting or having it rent-free. Where two or more people share this responsibility, the researcher should specify who to include in the study.
Hedonic Scale is a scale that indicates the extent of respondents' overall liking or disliking for something, eg a product they tasted or a concept they viewed.
Hierarchy-of-effects Model is a marketing behavioural response model consisting of stages through which a buyer is presumed to go, including: awareness, knowledge, liking, preference, intention to buy and purchase.
Histogram is a vertical bar chart where the height of the bars represents the data.
History Error occurs in experiments when an unexpected (but significant) effect occurs that has an impact on the dependent variable being measured.
Holistic Test is a test that aims to assess participants' reaction to a product or concept as a whole (in contrast to an atomistic test that examines reactions to the individual elements).
Home Audit (aka Pantry Check) is a survey where an interviewer enters a participant's home to take an inventory of specific products present at that time.
Home Use Test (aka Extended Use Test or Product Placement Test) involves participants evaluating products in their own homes, or more generally, in a natural usage environment. The purpose of the test is to make an evaluation of a product after more experience with it than just some initial use.
HTML Survey see web site survey.
Hypothesis is an unproven statement that aims to describe a relationship or phenomenon that is relevant to a business.
Hypothesis testing is a statistical procedure used to compare a sample value of a statistic (which can be mean, proportion, standard deviation, variance) mean to a specified value or to compare a pair of sample values of such a statistic means.

I

Ideal Population see population of interest.
Identification information provides all details of the respondent (name, address etc) of a market research project so that they can be identified.
Implicit Alternatives are alternatives in a question that are not expressed openly. As alternatives are not clear, this may lead to certain biases.
Implicit Assumption is when all respondents are assumed to have the same level of knowledge on a subject. Questions with such assumptions can lead to instrument error and/or respondent error.
Implied Population is the population as suggested by the sample, i.e. it is that part of the population of interest that was available for the research. When a convenience sample is used the implied population could be significantly different to the population of interest (or the ideal population).
Imputed Response is a substitute for a missing response that is based on the pattern of responses from other survey respondents, who have a similar profile
Inability Error is where respondents are unable to answer a particular question. This may be because they have not understood the question, or do not have the information the question requires, or they cannot remember the circumstances to which the question refers or they are unable to articulate certain types of responses.
Incentive (Respondent Fee) is a payment given to participants or businesses for taking the time and trouble to co-operate in a marketing research study.
Incidence (i.e. Strike Rate) is the proportion of respondents contacted in a survey who qualify for the survey.
In-depth Interview (i.e. typically One-on-One) is a type of qualitative research involving an unstructured personal interview with a single respondent, conducted by a highly skilled interviewer. The objective here is to understand the underlying motivations, beliefs, attitudes and feelings of respondents, given a certain topic of research interest. It is typically used to describe data collection techniques, but mainly for qualitative research undertaken with individual respondents rather than with groups of consumers.
Index is a variable that is determined by dividing one measurement by another, and it is usually expressed as a percentage. Indices can be used to show variations over time, by comparing subsequent measurements of a variable with an initial measurement (an index of 100 indicates no change).
Indirect Approach is one where the real objective of a research project is not disclosed. Indirect approaches are useful when it is believed that the responses from participants may get biased, if the purpose is revealed.
Indirect Observation (i.e. Trace Analysis) is an observation technique where some record of past behaviour is used to deduce what happened during an event, e.g. looking at store purchase & stock levels to understand the sales patterns.
Indirect Question is a question to research participants that asks them to consider the behaviour of other people instead of their own. The purpose of indirect questions is to avoid bias caused by social group norms etc.
Independent Samples are samples that are not linked experimentally and the measurement of one sample has no effect on the others.
Independent variable (i.e. Causal Variable) is a variable that exerts some influence on another (dependent) variable. Research experiments usually involve some manipulation of independent variables followed by the measurement of dependent variables to understand the relationship between them.
Inductive Research see exploratory research.
Industrial Survey is a marketing research study that focuses on products and services utilized by businesses, companies in various sectors like manufacturing, service etc. conducted among respondents employed in such businesses (as opposed to a consumer survey). These surveys talk to respondents about issues & their perceptions related to the relevant industry they are knowledgeable about.
Initial Refusal occurs when a respondent refuses to participate in a survey at the interviewer's initial introductory statement.
Inferential Analysis is the analysis of data to test a specific hypothesis.
Information involves the analysis and interpretation of data to describe something about a market, product category etc.Informed Consent is the principle that researchers should try to obtain participation from respondents for a research only after they have fully understood what survey they are participating in and what they are committing to.
In-home Interview is where participants are asked survey questions face-to-face in their own homes.
In-house Research is research that is conducted by a company using their own staff (not an agency)
In-street Interview is where participants are asked survey questions face-to-face in the street.
Instrument Error is a type of non-sampling error caused by a defective or inaccurate survey instrument (or questionnaire) itself, such as unclear wording, asking respondents for information they are unable to supply or the instrument being changed in some way during the course of the research.
Intended Sample is the ideal sample, which was targeted for a particular research project (this may be different from the actual final sample).
Interaction Effect is the effect of all the factors working together, which is greater than the sum of the separate effects.
Interactive Testing Effect see pre-test manipulation interactive bias.
Intercept Interview (i.e. Mall Intercept Interview) is a type of central location interviewing where respondents are approached (or intercepted) in high traffic locations such as shopping malls etc. whilst the listing of the respondent happens at the mall, the main interview itself can take place either on the mall floor or a another close-by location.
Interdependence Techniques are types of multivariate analysis techniques that are used where no distinction is made as to which variables are dependent or independent.
Interdependency is when variables influence each other to varying degrees.
Interlocking Quotas are the numbers of respondent interviews required to meet several pre-defined characteristics such as age, life-cycle stage and income level.
Interquartile Range is a measure of variability and it is the range between the upper and lower quartiles (i.e. the middle 50% of a distribution) and it is equal to the difference between the 75th and the 25th percentile.
Internal Secondary Data are data that have already been generated and/or collected by a concern during its normal course of activity.
Internal Validity is a measure of the accuracy of an experiment in terms of the degree to which changes in the dependent variable can be attributed to manipulations of the independent variable.
International Code of Marketing and Social Research Practice is the code of conduct of ESOMAR and sets out the rights and responsibilities of those involved in marketing and social research.
Interval Scale is a scale where equal intervals in the scale correspond to equal changes in the characteristic being measured, e.g. temperature scales (Celsius/Fahrenheit).
Interview is the exchange if information between an interviewer and a respondent. A questionnaire is the vehicle used for this exchange, and the interviewer records the responses to a question or a series of questions on paper or by using a computer programme. The exchange can be face-to-face, on the telephone or via a computer link of some form.
Interviewer Bias see interviewer error.
Interviewer Cheating is when interviewers knowingly do not follow any of the instructions or record information, which has not been obtained from real respondents.
Interviewer Error (i.e. Interviewer Bias) is a type of non-sampling error caused by mistakes made by the interviewer that may or may not be due to lack of proper training and rigour. These may include influencing the respondent in some way, asking questions in the wrong order, or using slightly different phrasing (or tone of voice) than other interviewers. It can include intentional errors such as cheating and fraudulent data entry.
Intra-cultural Analysis is the breakdown of data into individual countries (or cultural units) and analysis within each individual country.Itemized Rating Scale is a type of non-comparative scale where each choice response options shown to the respondent has some form of description (as opposed to a semantic differential scale, where only the extreme categories are labelled).
Inverted Funnel Approach is a way of ordering questions in a questionnaire where the specific questions are asked before the general questions.

A, B, C
D, E, F
G, H, I
J, K, L
M, N, O
P, Q, R
S, T, U, V
W, X, Y, Z