— RESEARCH GLOSSARY

Definitions, without the jargon.

Plain-language definitions of the market-research terms, methods, and metrics you'll meet across our reports — each one explained the way an analyst would explain it.

C

CAGR

Compound Annual Growth Rate

The smoothed year-over-year rate at which a market or metric grows over a period, as if it grew steadily each year. It lets you compare growth across markets of different sizes and timeframes on a single number.

Custom Research

A study scoped to one client's specific question, rather than sold to a broad audience. Analysts define the methodology, sources, and deliverable around the decision the client needs to make.

G

GEM™

Discover · Evaluate · Grow

Meticulous's solution framework for guiding clients from discovering a market opportunity, through evaluating it with evidence, to growing a position within it.

M

Market Sizing

The process of estimating the total revenue or unit demand available in a market. Usually expressed through TAM, SAM, and SOM, and built from either top-down or bottom-up methods.

Meticulous Next™

A line of foresight briefs focused not on a market's current size but on the emerging technologies, breakthroughs, and regulatory shifts likely to reshape it over the next 5-15 years.

Meticulous Standard

The published verification method behind every Meticulous study — a five-link evidence chain that traces each material claim back to a primary source so findings can be audited.

P

Primary Research

First-hand data gathered directly — through expert interviews, surveys, and company disclosures — rather than drawn from existing published sources.

Secondary Research

Analysis built on already-published sources — filings, journals, government data, and databases — used to frame, corroborate, or triangulate primary findings.

S

SAM

Serviceable Addressable Market

The portion of the total market a company could realistically serve given its business model, geography, and product — a subset of TAM.

SOM

Serviceable Obtainable Market

The share of SAM a company can realistically capture in the near term, given competition and its own capacity — the most grounded of the three sizing figures.

Syndicated Research

Off-the-shelf reports researched once and sold to many buyers. Cost-effective for broad market context, versus custom research scoped to a single client.

T

TAM

Total Addressable Market

The total revenue opportunity if a product achieved 100% market share — the widest of the three sizing figures, useful for gauging the ceiling of an opportunity.

Triangulation

Confirming a finding by cross-checking it against multiple independent sources or methods. A core step in the Meticulous Standard before a number is published.

A term you don’t see here?

Ask an analyst. We'll define it in plain language — and if it's worth it, add it to the glossary.

Search Market Intelligence

Search across reports, blogs, press releases, and industries