BWI: ESOMAR Denounces Companies that Charge Fees to Participate in Research

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: ESOMAR
Wednesday, July 13, 2011 05:12 PM IST (11:42 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, People; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Business services, Information technology, Retailers; Technology
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ESOMAR Denounces Companies that Charge Fees to Participate in Research


New Delhi, Delhi, India, Wednesday, July 13, 2011 -- (Business Wire India) -- Recently international media have put the spotlight on two companies running alleged pyramid marketing schemes which offer participants, after paying a large fee to receive a survey, rewards for completing research questionnaires. The companies, based in India and in Singapore, also state that they will pay participants an additional fee for referring others to join market research survey panels.

ESOMAR, the World Association of Research Professionals, denounces this practice as unethical, misleading, and in breach of the key fundamentals of the ICC/ESOMAR International Code on Market Research, which has been undersigned and adopted by all ESOMAR members and over 55 market research associations worldwide.

"Market research depends on public confidence that it is carried out honestly, objectively and without disadvantage to its participants" noted Finn Raben, ESOMAR's Director General. "Respondents should never be expected to pay for participating in a survey and this practice is highly damaging to the image of market research."

"A key tenet of the ICC/ESOMAR International Code is that market researchers shall behave ethically and not abuse the trust of respondents or exploit their lack of experience or knowledge.

"People participate for all sorts of reasons, not least because they want to share their thoughts about the products and services they use and how they would like them to be improved. Whilst they may receive small incentives for giving up their free time to answer a questionnaire, it is unheard of that respondents should pay to participate in research."

"Charging people to join a survey panel is tantamount to asking people to invest their own money in completing our surveys and this could have a huge impact on the quality of the research results" explained Raben. "This is behaviour that has never been practiced by any responsible market research company, or member of ESOMAR; if it were, it would result in immediate expulsion."

Pravin Shekar, ESOMAR Council member and Founder of The Social Catalyst and Kreator-in-Chief of Krea noted, "Globally, online is now the preferred mode of data collection, and although net-penetration and its use for marketing research is at an early stage in India, there is significant potential for growth. Additionally, when we factor in the online-mobile convergence and the impact is quite significant!

"This is the right time to create awareness amongst professionals about the do's and don't's and associated guidelines and standards. It is important to establish (and follow) basic hygiene standards vis-à-vis online panels, respect for respondents and adherence to standards" Shekar explained.

ESOMAR's position has received support from throughout the Indian market research community, including from the national association. "Regretfully, recent Indian media activity has assumed that the behaviour of two companies is representative of the entire online industry which is wrong, unjustified and unwarranted" said Dr. J. Rajaretnam, President of the Market Research Society of India (MRSI).

"The market research industry in India, represented by the MRSI, also strongly condemns the concept of asking respondents to pay for participating in surveys. We fully endorse the view expressed by ESOMAR that such practice brings disrepute to the market research industry and want to underscore that none of our members ask respondents to make any payment for participating in any of the surveys conducted by them. We urge people to exercise caution in their dealings with such organisations."

ESOMAR has published 26 Questions to Help Research Buyers of Online Samples and advises clients to use this resource when selecting panel suppliers to avoid poor quality surveys. The questions highlight the importance of knowing how the panel has been recruited, how it is managed, and the processes in place to ensure that respondents do not answer a questionnaire more than once as this would skew the results.

ESOMAR has also just updated its Guideline on Online Research which clarifies the key ethical, technical and legal issues for researchers. The guideline requires researchers to treat respondents with respect, to ask for consent if personal data is to be used for a non-research purpose and to maintain a clear distinction between research and commercial activities such as direct marketing.

The guideline also requires researchers to refrain from unsolicited email and to take special care when interviewing children and young people. Research companies must post clear and prominent privacy policies including whether they use cookies and if so why, and transparent disclosures before or at the time of data collection if they use technologies that identify or track respondents.

For more information,please visit www.esomar.org



CONTACT DETAILS
Erika Harriford-McLaren, Strategic and Corporate Communications Manager, ESOMAR, +31 20 664 2141, e.harriford-mclaren@esomar.org
Pallavi Bordoloi, 20:20 MSL, +91 9867696467, pallavi.bordoloi@2020msl.com

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, PEOPLE, MARKETING, BUSINESS SERVICES, IT, RETAIL, TECHNOLOGY

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