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Category: Responsibilities to the Public

Category: Responsibilities of Researchers to Clients

Category: Rules specific to conducting market research using the internet

Category: Rules specific to conducting of qualitative research

Category: Responsibilities to the Public

1. Do respondents have to be informed that a telephone interview may be recorded or monitored for quality control purposes in the US and Canada?

Canada's privacy law, PIPEDA, requires that organizations identify their purposes and obtain consent when seeking to collect personal information from individuals.  An individual's voice is regarded as personal information, although it may not be possible to identify a person by their voice alone.  If a person’s name is known, and the telephone interview is being recorded,  thismust be disclosed at the outset of the call, stating that it may be monitored or recorded for quality assurance purposes.

In the U.S., some states’wiretapping laws require that both parties on a call must consent to monitoring or recording.  The two parties in the research context would be the interviewer and the respondent.  Other states require that only one party on the call must consent to monitoring or recording.  In certain US states, this is not a requirement. As part of good marketing research practice, the monitoring or recording of a call for quality assurance purposes should be disclosed to all respondents as a general rule, rather than applying different rules for U.S. respondents depending on which state they reside in.

Keywords: Primary Records, Guarantees of Anonymity

2. Can a qualitative research database of respondents be sold to another company?

Whether the research database can be sold depends on what promises were made to the respondents when they agreed to be part of the database for ongoing research opportunities. If an agreement was made at the time of recruitment that personal information would never be sold to another company, personal information cannot be transferred to another company.

Many research companies address business transfers, mergers and acquisitions in their privacy policies.

In cases where a research company did not address business transfers in its privacy policy at all, then the information could be sold under B.C.'s, Alberta's, and Canada's respective privacy laws, provided the research company obtains respondents' consent. 

Keywords: Primary Records, Guarantees of Anonymity

3. What are the requirements for verifications or monitoring of telephone interviews?

A Supervisor must monitor or verify a percentage of each Interviewer’s work. When monitoring, a minimum of 5% of each Interviewer’s completed interviews must be monitored. In order to ensure adequate quality checks, 75% of the whole interview must be monitored to count towards the 5% monitoring requirement. When verifying, a minimum of 10% of each interviewer’s completed interviews must be verified.

Keywords: Verification of Field

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Category: Responsibilities of Researchers to Clients

4. I work for a marketing research company and my client has requested a written report. What should I include and how detailed should this be?

A typical research study would include a data tabulation plan (which is the reporting specification requirements). In addition, a technical appendix provides details on the study background (including objectives) and methodology.

The complexity of the study will determine the level of detail. It is important to consider your client’s level of understanding of marketing research. Findings should be supported by tables and charts. Adherence to good research practices will require the presentation of results in a format that provides a reasonable level of understanding for your client(s). 

Keywords: Detail Reporting

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Category: Rules specific to conducting market research using the internet

5. I am conducting an online survey for my company. Is it okay to send unsolicited emails using a list provided by one of our subsidiary company?

Researchers must not use unsolicited e-mail to invite consumers to participate in research. Researchers must verify that consumers contacted for research by email have a reasonable expectation that they will receive email contact for research, irrespective of the source of the list (i.e. Client, list owner, etc.).

6. Do I need to add SSL or encrypted security features to an online survey registration page given that Firefox and Internet Explorer 7 already provide enhanced security features?

Researchers must use up-to-date technologies to protect the personal data collected or stored on websites or servers. In particular, panel registration pages, and online surveys that collect sensitive personal information, must use Secure Socket Layer (SSL) or an equivalent level of protection. While the latest version of Firefox and Internet Explorer may provide improvements in browser security, only Secure Socket Layer (SSL) or an equivalent level of protection offers end-to-end encryption enabling data to be transferred securely. 

Keywords: Data Security, Protection of Data

7. Are respondents personal email address considered as private information?

A Respondent’s email address is personal information and must be protected in the same way as other identifiers (telephone numbers).

Keywords: Privacy

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Category: Rules specific to conducting of qualitative research

8. Can Focus Group results be considered representative?

The objective of qualitative research is to provide qualitative and not quantitative data. Each qualitative report must include a standard statement emphasizing that the results of the research are not statistically projectable. This caution should be included in the summary and the body of the report. Reports should not include percentages or precise proportions. Expressions such as some, most, or a few, may be used.

Keywords: Non-Projectability, Inclusion of Statement of Non-Projectability

9. Can I use a respondent recruited for a specific study for another study?

To protect the Respondents, persons recruited for a specific study must be used by the Moderator only for that study and not be recalled to participate in another qualitative study without prior permission of the initial Recruiter and the Respondent. 

Keywords: Recruitment Specification, One Study

10. Can my friends and family participate in a focus group that I am moderating?

No Respondents should be recruited who know each other for the same study, unless they are in different groups or interviews that are scheduled separately. This prevents bias in comments made by respondents due to personal influence by family or friends.

Keywords: Default Recruitment Specification, General Public

11. I have audiotapes and videotapes from focus group sessions conducted a month ago. The results have been presented to the client. Should I dispose of them now?

Audio and video recordings, where applicable, must be kept by the Moderator, or in his or her absence, the Facility or Subcontractor, for a period of 12 months. Audio and video recordings should be disposed of in such a way as not to risk the security of the information obtained.

Keywords: Default Recruitment Specification, Security of Recording

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