This is a type of study that requires respondents to come to a specific testing facility in order to participate in the research. Usually taste tests are conducted as central location tests.

These are questions that you are asked when you are first invited to take part in a study. These questions are designed to help determine what type of respondent is needed for a given study in terms of demographics and product usage (i.e. age, income, purchase frequency, brands purchased, etc). These questions vary from study to study.

This word has two meanings in consumer and opinion research. First, it refers to maintaining the privacy of the respondents who participate in our studies. At no time is any of your personal information shared with the client nor are your individual responses revealed; all data is presented to the client in total. Confidentiality also refers to the fact that respondents are not told information about the purpose of the study; who it is being conducted for; or specifics about the product they are testing (such as brand name).

This refers to personal information about an individual, such as age, gender, education, income, and ethnic background. Also referred to as “demos”.

A focus group is a type of qualitative research. It is a roundtable discussion where small groups (8 to 10) of respondents are asked to share their opinions about a specific topic of interest. Focus groups are lead by a trained moderator whose job it is to guide the discussion. These groups usually last between 1.5 and 2 hours and are done at a central location.

This type of research requires respondents to use product(s) at home for a specific period of time. Sometimes respondents will need to come to a central location to pick up the product and sometimes it will be mailed to their homes. The study is designed to capture respondents' opinions and reactions to the product(s) once the usage period is over; this can be done by a paper questionnaire, a follow up telephone call or by accessing a survey through the internet.

Respondents receive gifts for their participation in consumer opinion research studies conducted by JRA. Usually these gifts are in the form of monetary compensation, sweepstakes, samples of products for their use, or charitable contributions. JRA typically compensates its respondents with a monetary gift that varies in amount depending on the type of study.

In-depth interviews are meant to capture information and opinions from a respondent in an unstructured manner. There is usually a discussion outline that is meant to help guide the flow of the interview. In-depth interviews are conducted by trained moderators and qualitative specialists. This is a type of qualitative research.

A process by which businesses collect, analyze and interpret information. This information can be anything that will allow them to make better business decisions (i.e. pricing a product, type of packaging, overall acceptance of the product itself, etc).

A moderator is someone who has received specialized training to conduct qualitative research including but not limited to focus groups and in-depth interviews.

A one on one interview is conducted in-person and usually involves a respondent and an interviewer. These types of interviews could be either qualitative or quantitative in nature. This could also be referred to as a personal interview.

This is a questionnaire that is administered via the Internet. The length of the survey can vary. Online surveys can be used as an alternative to a telephone survey or in conjunction with a home use test.

For central location tests, it is necessary to invite more people to come to the test than we actually need for the study. This is done to make sure that we do not fall short on the number of completed surveys we must meet to satisfy the clients requirements. In some instances, we may have too many people show up at the facility for a given survey; on these occasions, we typically 'pay and send' the extra people. This means that we provide those individuals with a monetary gift, even though they do not participate in the survey.

This is research which provides in-depth understanding about an issue. It is conducted with a smaller number of people; therefore the information gathered can not be used to project how the population at large would feel about that issue. This type of research is typically conducted in-person via focus groups and in-depth interviews.

Refers to surveys where the results can be used to project how the larger population feels about the issue. Quantitative research is conducted with large groups of respondents and the answers are usually analyzed using various statistical methods. Some examples of this type of research are telephone interviews, central location tests, and in-home use tests.

This is the term that is used to refer to the questions that are asked during the survey. Sometimes questionnaires can be administered by paper or computer. Questionnaires are also referred to as ballots or surveys.

This is the term that is used to identify the quantity of interviews/surveys that must be completed for a given study. In most cases, there are several quotas that must be met and each has a specific set of requirements. Quotas can be thought of as “buckets”; we must obtain a certain number of people for each bucket to meet the overall requirement for a study. Some examples of types of quotas we might have for a given study could be: age quotas, gender quotas, product usage quotas (heavy users vs. non-users), quotas by various flavor users for a food product (X # of strawberry, N # of Vanilla), etc.

Recruiting is the process by which JRA invites potential participants to a study. It usually involves an initial phone call or email which provides some general information about the study, which will allow you to decide whether or not you would like to participate. If you feel that it is something you would like to do, there are typically some qualifying questions that we must ask to be sure that you are right for this particular study.

This is the name used to refer to the person who is invited to participate in a study and provide their opinions. Regardless of what type of study it is, this person is always referred to as the 'respondent'.

Screening is part of the recruiting process. Those people who respond to the initial invitation are asked to provide answers to some questions that will help determine whether or not they are eligible for that particular study. The questions asked during the screening process vary from study to study as each has its own specific criteria. Screening will always take place prior to the actual study and can be conducted over the phone, in-person or via the web.

Respondents are asked to come into a central location and evaluate a food or beverage product using their senses. During these types of tests, respondents will provide feedback on the products by tasting the product and telling what they like and dislike about it. Sometimes there will be just one product and sometimes there are several products to taste and determine which one is preferred.

Telephone surveys are interviews that are conducted over the telephone. The length will vary depending on the topic and number of questions to be covered.

The term used to refer to the product that will be evaluated in taste tests or home use tests. When there are several products, they will usually be identified by a 3-digit code on the package/bottle.