Problem definition:A broad statement of the general problem and identification of the specific components of the marketing research

problem. Problem Audit:A comprehensive examination of a marketing problem to understand its origin and nature. Secondary data:Data collected for some purpose other than the problem at hand. Primary Data:Data originated by the researcher specifically to address the research problem. Qualitative Research:An unstructured, exploratory research methodology based on small samples intended to provide insight and understanding of the problem setting. Environmental context of the problem:Consists of the factors that have an impact on the definition of the marketing research problem, including past information and forecasts, resources and constraints of the firm, objectives of the decision maker, buyer behavior, legal environment, economic environment, and marketing and technological skills of the firm. Objectives:Goals of the organization and of the decision maker must be considered in order to conduct successful marketing research. Buyer behavior:A body of knowledge that tries to understand and predict consumers reactions based on an individuals specific characteristics. Marketing Research Problem:A problem that entails determining what information is needed and how it can be obtained in the most feasible way. Research Questions:Research questions are refined statements of the specific components of the problem. Hypothesis:An unproven statement or proposition about a factor or phenomenon that is of interest to the researcher. Research Design:A framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project. It specifies the details of the procedures necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure and /or solve marketing research problems. Exploratory Research:One type of research design, which has as its primary objective the provision of insights into, and comprehension of the problem situation confronting the researcher.

Conclusive Research:Research designed to assist the decision maker in determining, evaluating and selecting the best course of action to take in a given situation. Descriptive Research:A type of conclusive research that has as its major objective the description of something-usually market characteristics or functions. Cross Sectional Design:A type of research design involving the collection of information from and given sample of population elements only once. Single Cross Sectional Design:A cross sectional design in which one sample of respondents is drawn from the target population and information is obtained from this sample once. Multiple Cross-sectional designs:A cross-sectional design in which there are two or more samples of respondents and information from each sample is obtained only once. Cohort Analysis:A multiple cross-sectional design consisting of a series of surveys conducted at appropriate time intervals. The cohort refers to the group of respondents who experience the same event within the same time interval. Longitudinal Design:A type of research design involving a fixed sample of population elements that is measured repeatedly. The sample remains the same over time, thus providing a series of pictures which, when viewed together portray a vivid illustration of the situation and the changes that are taking place over time. Panel:A sample of respondents who have agreed to provide information at specified intervals over an extended period. Causal Research:A type of conclusive research where the major objective is to obtain evidence regarding cause and effect (causal) relationships. Total Error:The variation between the true mean value in the population of the variable of interest and the observed mean value obtained in the marketing research project. Random sampling error:The error due to the particular sample selected being an imperfect representation of the population of interest. It may be defined as the variation between the true mean value for the sample and the true mean value of the population. Non-sampling error:Non-sampling errors are errors that can be attributed to sources other than sampling, and they can be random or nonrandom.

Non-response error:A type of non-sampling error that occurs when some of the respondents included in the sample do not respond. This error may be defined as the variation between the true mean value of the variable in the original sample and the true mean value in the net sample. Response error:A type of non-sampling error arising form respondents who do respond but give inaccurate answers, or their answers are mis-recorded or mis-analyzed. It may be defined as the variation between the true mean value of the variable in the net sample and the observed mean value obtained in the marketing research project. Marketing research proposal:The official layout of the planned marketing research actively for management. It describes the research problem, the approach, the research design, data collection methods, data analysis methods, and reporting methods. Online databases:Databases, stored in computers, which require a telecommunications network to access. Internet databases:Internet databases can be accessed, searched, and analyzed on the internet. It is also possible to down load data from the Internet and store them in the computer or an auxiliary storage device. Offline databases:Databases those are available on diskette or CD-ROM.