Head of household
A term no longer used by the U.S. Census Bureau (although often used in the
research industry).  The new term is householder. The householder is the
person who completed the Census Questionnaire.


Hedonic scale
A scale for measuring general, overall opinion of a product.


Heteroscedasticity
In regression analysis the condition of non-constant variance.


History
Things that happen or outside variables that change between the beginning and
end of an experiment. See also maturation.


Homogeneous groups
Groups in which the units or individuals have extremely similar characteristics.


Homoscedasticity
In regression analysis it is the condition of constant variance.


Honorarium
The payment provided to focus group participants. The amount varies
dramatically, based on the difficulty of recruiting the participants. Also called
the co-op payment or incentive.


Hostess
The individual responsible for greeting the focus participants as they arrive at
the facility and for preparing the room.  The responsibilities of a hostess
include providing food for the participants and the client observers, re-screening
respondents when they arrive, preparing name tags, etc.


Household
All persons who occupy a housing unit.


Householder
In most cases, the person in whose name the home is owned or rented. Also
called head of household. In some cases, the individual who was surveyed or
interviewed. The U.S. Census Bureau defines the householder is the person
who completed the Census Questionnaire.


Housing unit
A house, apartment, group of rooms, or a single room occupied as separate
living quarters.


Humanistic inquiry
A research method in which the researcher is immersed in the system or group
under study.


Hypothesis test of proportions
Test to determine whether the difference between proportions is greater than
would be expected because of sampling error.