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Editor: Jan Roekens
Design: Niels Wagemaker
New ISO 20252 standards in place
This May 1st was a date of some significance, as it saw the former EFAMRO EMRQS standard replaced by the new global ISO 20252 standards.
The National Quality Standard Institutes formulated these new standards and, although EFAMRO officially has an observatory status, its Management Team members nevertheless invested time and effort in furthering the development of these global standards.
Read more...
Spanish assault on research industry
On March 8th, the Spanish Association for Media Research (AIMC) issued an official statement after confirming the participation of fake interviewers in the leading General Media Study.
The statement revealed that COPE, a Spanish radio network, not only bribed interviewers, but also had journalists infiltrate, who were then put to work as fake interviewers during fieldwork activities carried out by the research agencies heading the study, as part of a plot to manipulate the survey and modify the data.
Read more...
Self-regulatory use of auto-dialling equipment agreed
Efamro members have accepted the self-regulatory use of auto-dialling equipment by unanimous vote. The standards set will be minimum standards that need to be adhered to under the principle of subsidiarity: a mandatory requirement for members.
The BMRA and the MRS were the first to accept a guideline in this area, and a desire was expressed amongst other Efamro members to expand the geographical reach of the underlying principles.
Read more...
‘Do Not Call’ register gets go-ahead in Australia
A ‘Do Not Call’ register designed to stamp out nuisance telemarketing calls will be up and running in Australia by 2007, the government announced in the first week of April.
Social researchers have won an exemption from the rules, meaning they can continue to contact households that register with the service. However, there is some confusion over whether market research activities share that status.
Read more...
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New ISO 20252 standards in place
This May 1st was a date of some significance, as it saw the former EFAMRO EMRQS standard replaced by the new global ISO 20252 standards.The National Quality Standard Institutes formulated these new standards and, although EFAMRO officially has an observatory status, its Management Team members nevertheless invested time and effort in furthering the development of these global standards.
In the future we look to be facing two main challenges; the first of which is the implementation of the new norms. The new standard has a global scope, which has called for compromise in certain areas. We encountered pockets of resistance in a number of countries, as well as reluctance to adhere to global guidelines. A low awareness level remains in certain nations in this respect.
The second challenge to be dealt with is the broadening of the scope of the ISO 20252 standards.
A decision was made to establish a new Working Group (chaired by Erich Wiegand) under the existing ISO Technical Committee 225 (chaired by Enrique Domingo). The task of the Working Group 2 (WG2) is to develop a standard for service requirements for access panels. The first meeting of WG2 will take place on May 22nd and 23rd in Berlin.
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Spanish assault on research industry
On March 8th, the Spanish Association for Media Research (AIMC) issued an official statement after confirming the participation of fake interviewers in the leading General Media Study.The statement revealed that COPE, a Spanish radio network, not only bribed interviewers, but also had journalists infiltrate, who were then put to work as fake interviewers during fieldwork activities carried out by the research agencies heading the study, as part of a plot to manipulate the survey and modify the data.
When confronted with the research agencies and the AIMC, who discovered the fraud, COPE representatives maintained that the incident was merely part of a ‘journalistic investigation’ to prove the unreliability of the study data.
Several associations in the press, radio, advertising and advertiser sectors, including AEDEMO and ANEIMO, have expressed their rejection of and utmost contempt for these actions.
Apart from the serious consequences this incident may have on the EGM survey, which is essential for decisions on advertising investments, ANEIMO strongly believes it is a direct and fraudulent attack against the market research sector. We are all aware that, apart from the quality control mechanisms all agencies need to implement - and which, in this case, have allowed us to detect the fraud - research activities are based on the principle of good faith which pervades the relationship among suppliers, clients and employees.
The considerable negative effect fraudulent actions like this may have on data collection processes would render it impossible to proceed with these methods.
Legal action
All the sectors involved strongly believe that these practices do not justify potential discrepancies that may exist within different research methodologies. Such discrepancies should be discussed using professional and honest communication channels.
EFAMRO has issued a statement condemning these actions, and is in support of the position taken by ANEIMO. It has further emphasized the importance of establishing and maintaining quality standards. EFAMRO also stresses the benefits posed by these standards, as they allow agencies to detect and prevent potential assaults on the industry. This is a key issue if we wish all research users to continue to rely on our existing practices and methodologies.
In April, the AIMC (an umbrella organization which brings together all types of communication media, advertising agencies and companies) decided to expel COPE and publish the data yielded after the conclusion of the current data to emerge from the General Media Study. The fieldwork data affected by the fraud has been identified and proclaimed void. A decision has also been reached to take legal action against the perpetrators of these acts.
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Self-regulatory use of auto-dialling equipment agreed
Efamro members have accepted the self-regulatory use of auto-dialling equipment by unanimous vote. The standards set will be minimum standards that need to be adhered to under the principle of subsidiarity: a mandatory requirement for members.The BMRA and the MRS were the first to accept a guideline in this area, and a desire was expressed amongst other Efamro members to expand the geographical reach of the underlying principles.
The use of automated dialling equipment in survey research has opened up new opportunities for collecting information by telephone interviews. At the same time, it raises a number of ethical, legal, and technical issues which must be dealt with by the self-regulation mechanism within the industry if automated dialling equipment is to be used effectively and responsibly in market, opinion, and social research.
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Do Not Call register gets go-ahead in Australia
A Do Not Call register designed to stamp out nuisance telemarketing calls will be up and running in Australia by 2007, the government announced in the first week of April.Social researchers have won an exemption from the rules, meaning they can continue to contact households that register with the service. However, there is some confusion over whether market research activities share that status.
‘Market researchers undertaking social research’ were one of a number of suggested exemptions in a discussion document issued in October last year. This prompted the Association of Market & Social Research Organisations (AMSRO) and the Australian Market & Social Research Society (AMSRS) to write to the government, arguing that: "It is not feasible to distinguish research projects on the basis of whether they are 'social' research versus 'market' research. (…) Indeed, an exemption solely for 'social research' is likely to lead to confusion amongst the public, researchers and regulators alike."
However, it appeared as if the concerns of AMSRO and AMSRS had not been taken on board. Announcing plans for the register, Senator Helen Coonan, the minister for communications, information technology and the arts, said: "A Do Not Call register, open to individuals and small businesses, will enable people to opt out from receiving unsolicited telemarketing calls. Once a telephone number is registered, it will be prohibited for telemarketers to contact that number.
However, in recognition of the need for some organisations with underlying public interest objectives to make unsolicited calls, a limited range of exemptions will apply, for example, to charity groups and people undertaking social research. Exemptions will also apply to companies with an existing business relationship with an individual, for example with existing accounts or contracts."
Despite winning an exemption, social research projects will have to be carried out in accordance with a new set of national minimum contact standards, which are expected to cover permitted calling hours, minimum information requirements and the termination of calls.
From: www.research-live.com
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