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CODES & GUIDELINES
EXPANDED CODE OF MARKETING RESEARCH STANDARDS RATIFIED BY MRA MEMBERSHIP
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By an overwhelming majority of 97%, the membership of MRA ratified the expanded
Code of Marketing Research Standards. The expanded code began its journey to ratification
in August of 2001. The draft Code was on the MRA Web site for members to review
and offer comments from March 20 through April 19, 2002. All member comments were
reviewed and changes to the draft code were submitted to the MRA Professional
Standards Committee for final approval on February 11, 2003 before submission
to the MRA Board of Directors. At its March 13, 2003 meeting, the Board of Directors
unanimously approved the expanded Code of Marketing Research Standards with recommended
changes. The next and final step in the process was MRA members' ratification
of the Code which was finalized on May 12, 2003.
As with the prior Code of Data Collection Standards, all new and renewing MRA
members will be required to sign the Code of Marketing Research Standards as a
condition of membership, binding them to ethical conduct according to code. Failure
to do so can result in censure, suspension or expulsion from MRA member ranks.
The Expanded Code of Marketing Research Standards can be found in portable
document format (pdf) via the link at the top right column of this page.
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A fundamental aim of the Association is to ensure that standards are maintained.
It is important that opinion and marketing research knowledge and the value of
research are communicated to both the business community and the public at large,
while complying with applicable federal, state and local laws, regulations and
ordinances.
MRA expects members to follow principles of honesty, professionalism, fairness
and confidentiality to guard the interests of the public and our clients in order
to promote good business practices. MRA's Code of Data Collection Standards consists
of the responsibilities of respondents, clients, and data collectors not only
to each other, but also to the general public and business community.
All MRA members must sign and adhere to the Code of Data Collection Standards.
The standards are enforced, and complaints of alleged unethical behavior may be
filed against an MRA member who is suspected to have violated the Code.
In addition to its own standards, MRA endorses the CASRO Code of Standards,
the ICC/ESOMAR International Code of Marketing and Social Research Practice and
ESOMAR's Guide to Conducting Marketing and Opinion Research Using the Internet.
We offer this material in portable document format, or PDF, in order to make
the details clear and printable. To view and print the files, you need a program
such as Adobe Acrobat Reader, which most browsers already include. If you have
trouble downloading the file, or if you'd like to upgrade, you can obtain
such software for free from Adobe's
website.
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