Pen portrait

An informal description of a person or group of people - this may cover age and other 'hard' variables, but will focus on softer dimensions such as attitudes, appearance and lifestyle. This may be part of the outcome of a piece of qualitative research (see 'typology') or may be used to help recruit the right participants for a project. For example, in the latter case, a pen portrait could describe 'the kind of music-mad kids you see hanging around record shops on Saturdays', as well as asking for specific age and usership criteria to be met.