ACORN (A Classification of Residential Neighbourhoods) is a directory that classifies 39 different types of neighbourhoods in Britain, assuming that people living in a particular neighbourhood will have similar behaviour patterns, disposable incomes, etc. It is used by companies to provide target areas for selling particular products or services (such as swimming pools, double glazing, etc.) or alternatively to exclude areas (particularly finance and insurance-related) from a sales drive. It is also used extensively for selecting representative samples for questionnaire surveys. Research ACORN