Definition: Galvanometer Test

Galvanometer Test is a physiological research methodology used in observational marketing

research where a consumer is asked to respond to a survey or is shown some advertisement and
the physiological changes before and after the test are measured to test the effectiveness of the
advertisements.

A physiological measurement refers to responses that are involuntary to marketing stimuli by the
use of electrodes or other related equipments. There are many disadvantages of using such as test
because since these tests are unnatural, a respondent might become nervous and emit false
reading. Moreover it becomes difficult to measure whether the response was positive or negative.

Examples
Galvanometer Test uses a galvanometer to determine the excitement levels by measuring electrical
activity in the respondents skin. This test requires electrical sensors or sensing pads in order to
measure the electrical impulses when the respondent encounters an interesting stimulus such as an
exposure to advertisements or during new product launches.

Mechanical devices are sometimes used to measure physiological responses of

research participants to product attributes or advertisements. Generally, what is
measured is interest or emotions in response to what is seen, heard, felt, or smelled.
Mechanical devices used in primary research data collection include Galvanometers,
eye cameras, eye gaze recorders, audiometers, and tachistoscopes that show an image
or ad for a brief flash.
Qualitative measures are becoming more common in primary research as advanced in
technology support different approaches. Consumers are being turned loose with
sophisticated technology on which they can record their impressions of product or
aspects of their consumer experience. Some market research provider agencies even
go into the homes of consumers to film their interactions with products. These videos
are trimmed down to a highlight reel that is used to analyze consumer behavior. One of
the primary reasons for preferring qualitative measures to surveys or interviewing is
that the expressed beliefs and intentions of consumers often fail to match their actual
behavior in the realm of brand engagement or purchase decisions.

Questionnaires or surveys - For gathering primary research data, surveys are the most
commonly used of the instruments. Although the survey instrument is flexible and relatively
inexpensive, it requires careful attention during development. All surveys should be piloted
tested, at least to some degree, before they are released and administered to a target sample.
The forms that the questions take should be carefully considered to ensure they perform as
expected and that they fit well into the survey document as a whole.Developing survey
questions is both an art and a science. Fortunately, many guidelines to survey construction,
administration, and scoring are available.

Marketing research is the function that links the consumer, customer, and public to the marketer
through information. This information is used to identify and define marketing opportunities and
problems; to generate, refine, and evaluate marketing actions; to monitor marketing
performance; and to improve understanding of the marketing process. Marketing research
specifies the information, manages and implements the data-collection process, analyzes the
results, and communicates the findings and their implications. Marketing research is concerned
with the application of theories, problem-solving methods, and techniques to identify and solve
problems in marketing. In order to offset unpredictable consumer behavior, companies invest in
market research.

RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS
In collecting primary data, marketing researchers have a choice of two main research
instrumentsthe questionnaire and mechanical devices. The questionnaire is by far the
most common instrument. A questionnaire consists of a set of questions presented to a
respondent for his or her answers. In preparing a questionnaire, the marketing
researcher must decide what questions to ask, the form of the questions, the wording of
the questions, and the ordering of the questions. Each question should be checked to
see that it contributes to the research objectives.
Although questionnaires are the most common research instrument, mechanical
instruments are also used. Two examples of mechanical instruments are people meters
and supermarket scanners. These techniques are not widely used because they tend to
be expensive, require unrealistic advertising exposure conditions, and are hard to
interpret.

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more: http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Mar-No/MarketingResearch.html#ixzz3eSeYET3N

tachistoscope is a device that displays an image for a specific amount of time. It can be used
to increase recognition speed, to show something too fast to be consciously recognized, or to
test which elements of an image are memorable.

1.

A marketing information system (MkIS) is a management information

system (MIS) designed to support marketing decision making. Jobber (2007) defines it
as a "system in which marketing data is formally gathered, stored, analysed and
distributed to managers in accordance with their informational needs on a regular
basis."
A tachistoscope is a device that displays an image for a specific amount of time. It can be used to
increase recognition speed, to show something too fast to be consciously recognized, or to test
which elements of an image are memorable. Projection tachistoscopes use a slide or transparency
projector equipped with the mechanical shutter system typical of a camera. The slide is loaded, the
shutter locked open, and focusing and alignment are adjusted, then the shutter is closed. When
ready for the test, a shutter speed is selected, and the shutter is tripped normally.

an apparatus for use in exposing visual stimuli, as pictures, letters, orwords, for
an extremely brief period, used chiefly to assess visualperception or to increase
reading speed.
A marketing information system (MkIS) is a management information system (MIS) designed to
support marketing decision making. Jobber (2007) defines it as a "system in which marketing data is
formally gathered, stored, analysed and distributed to managers in accordance with their
informational needs on a regular basis." In addition, the online business dictionary defines Marketing
Information System (MkIS) as a system that analyzes and assesses marketing information,
gathered continuously from sources inside and outside an organization. [1] Furthermore, an overall
Marketing Information System can be defined as a set structure of procedures and methods for the
regular, planned collection, analysis and presentation of information for use in making marketing
decisions. (Kotler, at al, 2006) Developing a MkIS system is becoming extremely important as the
strength of economies rely on services and to better understand the specific needs of customers.
Kotler, et al. (2006) defined it more broadly as "people, equipment, and procedures to gather, sort,
analyze, evaluate, and distribute needed, timely, and accurate information to marketing decision
makers."[2]
As our economy focuses on services, marketing is becoming extremely important to monitor the
marketing environment for changes in buyer behavior competition, technology, economic conditions,
and government policies.[3] In this sense, the role of marketing is becoming pivotal for an
organization to adapt to changes in the market environment. (Harmon, 2003)

Furthermore, as our economy relies heavily on the acquisition of knowledge, MkIS systems are
necessary to be able to define and differentiate the value proposition that one organization provides
with respect to another, as well as to define their competitive advantage. (Harmon, 2003)
The main benefit of MkIS systems is to integrate market-monitoring systems with strategy
development and the strategic implementation of policies and processes that help capture and act
on customer management applications with marketing decision support systems. This area
constitute Marketing intelligence that supports the analysis and market based activities that support
customer relations and customer service with real time information with real time applications that
support market based approaches.

A marketing information system (MIS) is intended to bring together disparate items of data into a
coherent body of information. An MIS is, as will shortly be seen, more than raw data or
information suitable for the purposes of decision making. An MIS also provides methods for
interpreting the information the MIS provides. Moreover, as Kotler's1 definition says, an MIS is
more than a system of data collection or a set of information technologies:
"A marketing information system is a continuing and interacting structure of people, equipment
and procedures to gather, sort, analyse, evaluate, and distribute pertinent, timely and accurate
information for use by marketing decision makers to improve their marketing planning,
implementation, and control".