Market Research Ethics: Project Confidentiality Standards

This is the second of two eTips! addressing market research ethics. Last month's edition covered the confidentiality requirements for research participants. This issue addresses confidentiality standards to be expected from research providers.

Maintaining client confidentiality throughout the research process protects the integrity of the market research program, minimizes any potential participant biases, and insures that the information remains the sole property of the company that commissioned the research.

Professional organizations, such as the Council of American Survey Research Organizations (CASRO), Marketing Research Association (MRA) and the American Marketing Association (AMA), recognize the need for client confidentiality standards and have established codes of conduct that clearly delineate these standards. For example, the MRA states that: "Data collection companies 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 prior authorization."*

Practicing confidentiality standards includes:

• Removing the product or client company name from any research materials or common references(including the market research program name);
• Restricting access of research materials to only those directly involved in the research program;
• Maintaining secured storage for all research materials, data files and final deliverables, as well as conducting secured destruction of any superfluous research materials; and
• Obtaining prior written approval prior to publication of any "white" papers or other materials related to the market research program.

For instance, a pharmaceutical qualitative research project would identify the program by a generic or nonproprietary name, such as treatment, therapeutic class, or specialty, rather than "Brand 'X' Focus Groups." Another illustrative example is when clients have access to project information only from one or two project directors rather than having direct access to service providers (e.g. moderators, interviewers, data entry staff). This "intermediation" model ensures that only the appropriate data is funneled back to the research sponsor--ultimately protecting them from security breaches that could negatively impact the market research program or the company itself.

*MRA Code of Data Collection Standards is available at www.mra-net.org