EFAMRO Issues International Directive on Dealing with Automated Dialling Equipment in Market, Opinion and Social Research

EFAMRO, the European Federation of Associations of Market Research Organisations has issued an International Directive on Dealing with Automated Dialling Equipment in Market, Opinion and Social Research after its members have approved it unanimously. This first international directive is an important step towards global harmonization of self-regulation of the research industry since the member associations of EFAMRO are obliged to implement the provisions of the directive into their national systems of self-regulation within a two years period after the adoption of the international directive.

The use of automated dialling equipment in survey research has opened 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 self-regulation of the research industry if automated dialling equipment is to be used effectively and responsibly in market, opinion and social research.

The national member associations of EFAMRO shall bring into force mandatory professional rules necessary to comply with the requirements of the international directive. But its single requirements are defined in a way which allows the national associations to implement them in a way which reflects the situation of the research industry in the single countries. Global harmonization of self-regulation of the research industry will be successful only if it is organized in a way which takes into consideration the already existing national differences in history, self-understanding and legal, political and social conditions of market, opinion and social research.

The International Directive on Dealing with Automated Dialling Equipment in Market, Opinion and Social Research is the first of a series of international directives which will be issued by EFAMRO. The single directives will be addressed especially to sensitive topics in survey research in order to protect the privacy rights of the respondents effectively and to regulate the research practice reasonably at the same time.

The EFAMRO International Directive on Dealing with Automated Dialling Equipment in Market, Opinion and Social Research is available as download on www.efamro.com