Oh no, did you miss our recent #mrx31 campaign (see Twitter)? We released 31 market research definitions over 31 days, covering the fundamental terms we think every market research professional should know.
Below are five of our favorites from the set (see the full definitions and other terms by visiting our glossary). Why our favorites? Because these are important terms that any well-rounded market research professional should know that are also commonly misused and misunderstood. Do you agree or disagree that these are five of the most misunderstood terms in market research? Let us know in the comments!
- Non-Response Rate: This is a common source of error in survey research caused by low response and/or completion rates. A high non-response rate may mean that the participants are not truly representative of the target market. If non-response is disproportionate across groups, some groups may be under-represented in the research.
- Outliers: Outliers are values in a data set that are far from the mean. The presence of outliers can skew our data; as a result, we may choose to remove them, or we may avoid reporting the mean (we may report the median instead, which is less skewed by outliers). However, survey researchers should look at outliers carefully as they may indicate a “bad” record or signal emerging trends or niche opportunities.
- Weighting: Weighting is a statistical technique used to correct survey non-response from specific groups. It is often necessary because, in market research, we typically conduct a survey, not a census (in which every member of a population is successfully surveyed), and some groups have higher non-response rates. See a helpful video on Weighting here: Data Quality Essentials for Survey Research
- 1st party data: First-party data is data a company collects directly from its customers or audience, typically through transactional data (such as in-house e-commerce data or call center data).
- Acquiescence bias: The tendency of research participants to agree with statements or otherwise choose responses they believe are desirable, rather than reporting their actual attitudes/behaviors/preferences. Acquiescence bias applies to both qualitative and quantitative research, and the risk can be mitigated by careful wording questions and answer option choices.
We are excited to continuously improve our glossary and resources for anyone wanting to become a Research Rockstar. To search for terms from our complete list of 156 definitions (and counting!), please visit the Research Rockstar Market Research Glossary.
