research re‧search [rɪˈsɜːtʆ, ˈriːsɜːtʆ ǁ -ɜːr-] noun [uncountable]
1. study of a subject to find out new things about it or to test new ideas, products etc:
• A leading pharmaceutical company will finance the research.
• What sets us apart from the rest of the industry is that we do research on our products to prove our claims.
— research verb [intransitive, transitive] :
• We need to research the market.
studies aimed at finding out people's opinions about a subject, an organization etc:
• Attitude research surveys have shown that people are becoming increasingly concerned about food safety.
ˈaudience reˌsearch
MARKETING a study of the number and kinds of people who saw a particular film, television programme, advertisement etc:
• the vice president of audience research at NBC
ˈcustomer reˌsearch also conˈsumer reˌsearch
MARKETING work done to find out why people buy certain products or services:
• Concerned officials began consumer research to determine to what extent the brand's image was damaged by the bad publicity.
ˈfield reˌsearch
MARKETING work that involves travelling to meet possible customers in order to get their opinions on products or services
work done to study the performance of stocks, shares etc, usually as a guide to what investments to make
ˌmarket reˈsearch also ˌmarketing reˈsearch abbreviation MR
MARKETING the activities involved in obtaining information about a particular market, including how much of a product is being sold, who is buying it, why they are buying it etc, or information about what people might buy:
• Market research showed `good potential' for marketing the aftershave to Hispanic men.
• a marketing research company
word focus - ˌmarket reˈsearch
Types of market research
Concept testing is when groups of people who might buy a product are asked for their opinion about an idea for a product. A
blind test is a way of testing a product in which people are asked to use the product and give their opinion about it without knowing the product’s name. A
focus group is a group of consumers who are brought together to discuss their feelings and opinions about products, advertisements, and companies.
Price elasticity tests are used to assess the degree to which a change in the price of something leads to a change in the amount of it that is sold.
motiˌvational reˈsearch
MARKETING a type of market research that involves collecting information about the reasons why people decide to buy one product or brand rather than another. This helps companies to decide which new products to develop and how they should advertise their products:
• Expert skill is involved in motivational research because this is investigation into the psychology of why individuals behave as they do.
work done to find out the best way of organizing the work and making decisions in a company, organization etc
a type of market research, especially in the form of interviews or group discussions, that aims to find out people's attitudes or opinions about something, where the results cannot be shown in numbers:
• We regularly carry out qualitative research to generate ideas for new products.
— compare quantitative research a type of market research where the results can be shown in the form of numbers, percentages etc, for example sales volumes or market share
— compare qualitative research 2. research centre/institute etc an organization or department where new ideas and products are developed, tested etc:
• a research centre to test US-made Honda parts
• These studies were conducted in more than 160 independent universities and research institutions in 23 countries.
* * *
Ⅰ.
research UK US /rɪˈsɜːtʃ/ noun [U]
► research into/on sth »
He is conducting detailed research into the effects of advertising on children.
carry out/do/conduct research »
The doctor has carried out extensive research on the superbug.
»
We'll need to do some research into the market before we commit ourselves.
»
It was a useful piece of research.
scientific/medical research »
He doesn't believe the scientific research.
»
a research assistant/student
»
a research grant
→
See also ATTITUDE RESEARCH(
Cf. ↑
attitude research),
AUDIENCE RESEARCH(
Cf. ↑
audience research),
CONSUMER RESEARCH(
Cf. ↑
consumer research),
CREDIT RESEARCH(
Cf. ↑
credit research),
DESK RESEARCH(
Cf. ↑
desk research),
INVESTMENT RESEARCH(
Cf. ↑
investment research),
MARKET RESEARCH(
Cf. ↑
market research),
MOTIVATIONAL RESEARCH(
Cf. ↑
motivational research),
OPERATIONS RESEARCH(
Cf. ↑
operations research),
PRODUCT RESEARCH(
Cf. ↑
product research),
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH(
Cf. ↑
qualitative research)
Ⅱ.
research UK US /rɪˈsɜːtʃ/ verb [I or T]
► research into sth »
She researches into the effects of climate change.