Measure What Matters

Glossary

“Say, oh wise man, how have you come to such knowledge?”

“Because I was never ashamed to confess my ignorance and ask others.”

—Johann Gottfried von Herder

Alarge part of measurement is about language. In fact (to use a concept adapted from John Gray’s Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus, www.marsvenus.com), it is about the two different languages used by Martians and Venusians. Venusians are people who tend to think and speak in a style most readily expressed by words—words like messages, target audiences, and relationships. In the business world, Venusians tend to work in communications. Martians tend to think and speak in a style most readily expressed by numbers—numbers like ROI, revenue, and quarterly results. And in business, Martians tend to be in management. And so it often happens that Venusians have a difficult time communicating in a fashion that Martians can understand—and vice versa. One of the benefits of measurement is that it allows communications and management to talk to each other.

Over time, researchers and measurement experts have developed their own terms that can frequently be confusing to the person who is new to the measurement process. This Glossary has been adapted from the Dictionary of Public Relations Measurement and Research from the Commission on Public Relations Measurement and Evaluation. Dr. Don Stacks of the University of Miami, and fully downloadable from the IPR’s website, www.instituteforpr.org. Italic terms in the definitions ...