System and method for performing market research studies on online content
First Claim
1. A system for performing focus group studies on at least one software application accessible by remote computers over a network, comprising:
- a plurality of respondent computers operatively coupled to the network, each of said respondent computers having a respondent software device programmed to download and run the software application from the network and including a respondent graphical user interface programmed to operate substantially simultaneously with said software application on said respondent computer, said respondent graphical user interface including at least two rating buttons, said rating buttons including a favorable rating button and an unfavorable rating button; and
at least one moderator computer operatively coupled to each of said respondent computers having a moderator software device and a database, said moderator software device being programmed to communicate with each of said respondent software devices operating on said respondent computers, collect rating signals from the respondent computers corresponding to activation of said rating buttons on said respondent graphical user interfaces of said respondent computers and store data associated with said rating signals collected in the database.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for conducting market research studies on online content utilizing moderator and respondent computers connected over a network. A moderator at the moderator computer directs a plurality of respondents at the respondent computers to view preselected subject matter displayed on the respondent computers and collects comments and reactions on the subject matter from the respondents in a database for later review and for benchmarking. Software resident in the respondent computers enables the respondents to view a plurality of screens showing different aspects of the online content and, in a preferred embodiment, provides buttons that can be activated by the respondents to indicate a reaction to the content. In addition, the preferred embodiment enables the respondents to provide text comments to the content. Software resident in the moderator computer enables a moderator to view the progress of the respondents through the online content and view the reactions and comments of the respondents to each screen display, all in real time, as well as view the time spent by each respondent viewing each different screen. The moderator software also enables the moderator to force comments and reactions from the respondents, as well as gather personal data from the respondents, and to print out reports displaying the results. The system of the invention also includes client computers so the clients for whom the study is conducted may view the comments and reactions in real time and exchange messages with the moderator.
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Citations
97 Claims
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1. A system for performing focus group studies on at least one software application accessible by remote computers over a network, comprising:
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a plurality of respondent computers operatively coupled to the network, each of said respondent computers having a respondent software device programmed to download and run the software application from the network and including a respondent graphical user interface programmed to operate substantially simultaneously with said software application on said respondent computer, said respondent graphical user interface including at least two rating buttons, said rating buttons including a favorable rating button and an unfavorable rating button; and
at least one moderator computer operatively coupled to each of said respondent computers having a moderator software device and a database, said moderator software device being programmed to communicate with each of said respondent software devices operating on said respondent computers, collect rating signals from the respondent computers corresponding to activation of said rating buttons on said respondent graphical user interfaces of said respondent computers and store data associated with said rating signals collected in the database. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A system for performing focus group studies on at least one Web page accessible by remote computers over the Internet, comprising:
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a plurality of respondent computers operatively coupled to the Internet, each of the respondent computers having a respondent browser device programmed to download and display the Web page, the respondent browser having a graphical user interface that includes at least two rating buttons, the rating buttons including a favorable rating button and a disfavorable rating button; and
at least one moderator computer operatively coupled to each of the respondent computers having a moderator software device and a database, the moderator software device being programmed to communicate with each of the respondent browser devices operating on the respondent computers, collect rating signals from the respondent computers corresponding to the activation of rating buttons on the graphical user interfaces of the respondent browsers, and store data associated with the rating signals collected in the database. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A method for performing focus group studies on at least one Web page accessible by remote computers over the Internet, comprising the steps of:
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operatively coupling a plurality of respondent computers to the Internet, each of the respondent computers including a respondent browser device for downloading and displaying a Web page from the Internet and a graphical user interface that includes at least two ratings buttons programmed to generate rating signals when activated, the ratings buttons including a favorable rating button and a disfavorable rating button;
operatively coupling a moderator computer to the plurality of respondent computers, the moderator computer including a moderator software device;
downloading and displaying a Web page from the Internet by the respondent browser device on a first one of the plurality of respondent computers collecting a rating signal by the moderator software device from the first one of the respondent computers; and
storing the rating signal collected by the moderator software device into a database record associated with the first one of the respondent computers. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 49)
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47. A system for performing focus group studies on a subject over a network comprising:
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a respondent computer having a respondent software device programmed to display an image of said subject to a human recipient and to provide said recipient a graphical user interface including a button to enable said recipient to indicate his or her reaction to said subject; and
a moderator computer operatively coupled to said respondent computer over said network having a moderator software device, said moderator software device being programmed to communicate with said respondent computer and collect data therefrom pertaining to said reaction.
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48. A system for performing focus group studies on a subject over a network comprising:
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a respondent computer having a respondent software device programmed to display an image of said subject to a human recipient and to provide said recipient a graphical user interface to enable said recipient to indicate his or her reaction to said subject; and
a moderator computer operatively coupled to said respondent computer over said network having a moderator software device, said moderator software device being programmed to communicate with said respondent computer, collect data therefrom pertaining to said reaction and display said data in real time.
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50. A system for performing a focus group study on a subject over a network comprising:
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a respondent computer having a respondent software device programmed to display an image of said subject to a human recipient and to provide said recipient a graphical user interface to enable said recipient to indicate his or her reaction to said subject; and
a moderator computer operatively coupled to said respondent computer over said network having a moderator software device, said moderator software device being programmed to communicate with said respondent computer and receive said reaction, said moderator software device including a moderator graphical user interface to enable a human moderator to solicit a reaction from said subject in real time at the discretion of said moderator during said focus group study. - View Dependent Claims (51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 81)
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80. A system for performing a market study on a subject over a network comprising:
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a respondent computer having a respondent software device programmed to display an image of said subject to a human recipient and to provide said recipient a graphical user interface including a button to enable said recipient to indicate his or her reaction to said subject;
a moderator computer operatively coupled to said respondent computer over said network having a moderator software device, said moderator software device being programmed to communicate with said respondent computer and collect data therefrom pertaining to said reaction; and
a client computer operatively coupled to said respondent computer having a client software device, said client computer device being programmed to communicate with said moderator computer to display said collected data in real time.
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82. A method for performing a focus group study on a subject over a network comprising the steps of:
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providing a respondent computer having a respondent software device programmed to display an image of said subject to a human recipient and to provide said recipient a graphical user interface to enable said recipient to indicate his or her reaction to said subject;
providing a moderator computer operatively coupled to said respondent computer over said network having a moderator software device, said moderator software device being programmed to communicate with said respondent computer and receive said reaction, said moderator software device including a moderator graphical user interface to enable a human moderator to solicit a reaction from said subject in real time at the discretion of said moderator during said focus group study;
directing a respondent to view said image and provide said reaction thereto;
receiving said reaction in said moderator computer; and
displaying said reaction on said moderator computer in real time. - View Dependent Claims (83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97)
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Specification