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The Code of
Professional Ethics and Practices
of the Marketing Research Association, Inc.
The Marketing Research Association is a recognized leader in the opinion and marketing research industry, advancing the practical application, use and understanding of opinion and marketing research.
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. (updated 7/1/01)
MRA Code of Data Collection Standards with Notes
Basic Principles of the Code of Standards
The Marketing Research Association's Code of Data Collection Standards is established to ensure that MRA members conform to the following principles:
-
Conduct research in an honest and ethical manner
- Instill confidence in research and encourage public cooperation
- Instill confidence in the business community that research is done in a professional and fair manner
- Carry out every research project in accordance with the Code
- Respect the general public
The principles of this Code must be adhered to and signed by each member of the Marketing Research Association, both corporate and individual.
Notes appearing in italic type are intended to help users interpret and apply the Code in practice. Any questions about how to apply the Code in a specific situation should be addressed to MRA Headquarters.
The
Code has 4 sections:
- Responsibilities
to Respondents
- Responsibilities
to Clients
- Responsibilities
to Data Collectors
- Responsibilities
to the General Public
Code of Data
Collection Standards
I. Responsibilities
to Respondents
Data
Collection Companies:
1.
will make factually correct statements to secure cooperation and
honor promises to respondents, whether verbal or written;
Interviewers
will not knowingly provide respondents with information that misrepresents
any portion of the interviewing process, such as; length of the
interview, scope of task involved, compensation, or intended use
of the information collected.
2.
will not use information to identify respondents without the permission
of the respondent, except to those who check the data or are involved
in processing the data. If such permission is given, it must be
recorded by the interviewer at the time the permission is secured;
Respondent
information will be linked to data collected only for research
purposes such as validation, evaluating data in aggregate based
on demographic information, modeling. Providing respondent information
is not permissible for any purpose other than legitimate research
purposes as mentioned above. If anyone requests respondent identifiable
information it will only be provided upon receipt of written declaration
of and agreement of some intended use. Such use shall be determined
by the provider to qualify as legitimate research use. (i.e. validation,
planned recalls, modeling, demographic analysis.) No other use
of this information falls within the boundaries of the Code. This
applies to all types of respondent sample sources including client
supplied lists.
3.
will respect the respondent's right to withdraw or to refuse to
cooperate at any stage of the study and not use any procedure
or technique to coerce or imply that cooperation is obligatory;
Respondent
cooperation is strictly on a voluntary basis. Respondents are
entitled to withdraw from an interview at any stage or to refuse
to cooperate in a research project. Interviewers should never
lead respondents to believe they have no choice in their participation.
4.
will obtain and document respondent consent when it is known that
the name and addresses or identity of the respondent may be passed
to a third party for legal or other purposes, such as audio or
video recordings;
By
documenting the respondent's consent for a defined specific use
of his/her name and address we are confirming the respondent realizes
we are asking something new of them, i.e., possible participation
in another research project.
5.
will obtain permission and document consent of a parent, legal
guardian or responsible guardian before interviewing children
12 years old or younger;
Interviewers
must take special care when interviewing children or young people.
The informed consent of the parent or responsible adult must first
be obtained for interviews with children.
6.
will give respondents the opportunity to refuse to participate
in the research when there is a possibility they may be identifiable
even without the use of their name or address (e.g., because of
the size of the population being sampled).
Respondent
cooperation is strictly on a voluntary basis. Respondents are
entitled to withdraw from a research project. Company policies
and/or interviewer instructions should state the interviewer must
give respondents the opportunity to not participate for any reason.
Interviewers:
1.
will treat the respondent with respect and not influence him or
her through direct or indirect attempts, including the framing
of questions, a respondent's opinion or attitudes on any issue.
Interviewers
cannot ask questions in a way that leads or influences respondents'
answers, nor can they provide their own opinions, thoughts or
feelings that might bias a respondent and therefore impact the
answers they give.
2.
will obtain and document permission of a parent, legal guardian
or responsible guardian before interviewing children 12 years
old or younger. Prior to obtaining permission, the interviewer
should divulge the subject matter, length of interview and other
special tasks that will be required.
Interviewers
must take special care when interviewing children or young people.
The informed consent of the parent or responsible adult must first
be obtained for interviews with children. Parents or responsible
adults must be told some specifics about the interview process
and special tasks, such as audio or video recording, taste testing,
respondent fees and special tasks, before permission is obtained.
II. Responsibilities
to Clients
Data
Collection Companies:
1.
will ensure that each study is conducted according to the client's
specifications;
Procedures
are implemented to conform or verify that client specifications
are being followed.
2.
will observe confidentiality with all research techniques or methodologies
and with information considered confidential or proprietary. Information
will not be revealed that could be used to identify clients or
respondents without proper authorization;
Respondent
information will be linked to data collected only for research
purposes and will not be used for any purpose other than legitimate
research. Protect the confidentiality of anything learned about
the respondent and/or his or her business.
3.
will ensure that companies, their employees and subcontractors,
involved in data collection take all reasonable precautions so
that more than one survey is not conducted in one interview without
explicit permission from the sponsoring company or companies;
Company
policies or procedures indicate the practice of conducting more
than one survey within an interview is not done without specific
permission from the relevant clients.
4.
will report research results accurately and honestly;
Describe
how the research was done in enough detail that a skilled researcher
could repeat the study; provide data representative of a defined
population or activity and enough data to yield projectable results;
present the results understandably and fairly, including any results
that may seem contradictory or unfavorable.
5.
will not misrepresent themselves as having qualifications, experience,
skills or facilities that they do not possess;
If
regularly subcontracting data collection, should not infer to
clients and prospective clients that they possess this capability
"in house"; claim only legitimate academic degrees, clients and
other qualifications.
6.
will refrain from referring to membership in this Association
as proof of competence, since the Association does not certify
any person's or organization's competency or skill level.
MRA
does not currently have a certification program for marketing
research competency, therefore while members can state their membership
in the Association, they cannot claim that this automatically
conveys a message of their competency to carry out the marketing
research process.
III. Responsibilities
to Data Collectors
Clients:
1.
will be responsible for providing products and services that are
safe and fit for their intended use and disclose/label all product
contents;
It
is the client's responsibility to ensure that all test products
are in compliance with all safety standards and that all product
contents information is provided to the data collectors. Data
Collectors should request in writing all pertinent information
as well as emergency numbers for respondents and themselves.
2.
will provide oral or written instructions;
To
ensure the success of the research, detailed instructions are
to be provided prior to the start of any project. These instructions
must be written and then confirmed orally for: understanding,
ability of the agency to implement and agreement to comply.
3.
will not ask our members who subcontract research to engage in
any activity that is not acceptable as defined in this Code or
that is prohibited under any applicable federal, state and local
laws regulations and ordinances.
All
MRA Members have agreed to comply with the Code as written and
thus will not agree to, or ask anyone else to, knowingly violate
any of the points of the Code.
IV. Responsibilities
to the General Public
Data
Collection Companies:
1.
will not intentionally abuse public confidence in marketing and
opinion research;
Marketing
research shall be conducted and reported for the sole purpose
of providing factual information upon which decisions will be
made. At no time is marketing research information to be used
to intentionally mislead public opinion. Instances of abuse of
public confidence undermine the credibility of our Industry.
2.
will not represent a non-research activity to be marketing and
opinion research, such as:
- Questions
whose sole objective is to obtain personal information about
respondents, whether for legal, political, private or other
purposes;
- The
compilation of lists, registers or data banks of names and addresses
for any non research purposes (e.g., canvassing or fundraising);
- Industrial,
commercial or any other form of espionage;
- The
acquisition of information for use by credit rating services
or similar organizations;
- Sales
or promotional approaches to the respondent;
- The
collection of debts;
This
does not refer to simulated test market research projects when
no money is involved or when the money is returned at the end
of the study.
3.
will make interviewers aware of any special conditions that may
be applicable to any minor (18 years old or younger).
Researchers
have a responsibility to provide any and all applicable information
to interviewers regarding the legal and proper handling of respondents
18 years old or younger.
Copyright©
2000, 2001, 2002 by Marketing Research Association, Inc. All rights reserved.
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