ABOUT THIS SERIES:
The Insights Association Code of Standards & Ethics outlines the fundamental principles of market research practices and client and participant relations. Important stuff. But how much do you and your team know about it?
In this series of articles, penned by members of IA’s Standards Committee, we will bring the Code to life – highlighting areas where it can and should be applied in various aspects of performing market research properly and ethically.
Remember, you and your team can also learn about the IA Code via a special, free self-paced on-demand module available on our Learning Channel. This module provides an overview of all sections of the Code and includes a quiz. It’s the perfect refresher for seasoned researchers and ideal training for recent hires. Get Started Now!
Duty of Care: How the Insights Association Code of Standards Supports a Positive Participant Experience
The experience encountered by people participating in market research just might be the most critical factor influencing the quality and reliability of our data and the resulting insights we draw. Ensuring a positive participant experience not only enhances overall response rates but also promotes accuracy and honesty in responses through better engagement.
The Insights Association's (IA) Code of Standards underscores the importance of a participant-centered approach to research activities. Specifically, the Duty of Care section mandates that researchers uphold the highest ethical standards, ensuring that participants are treated with respect, their privacy is protected, and they are fully informed about the research process. This framework is designed to foster trust and encourage meaningful engagement from participants, ultimately enhancing the quality and credibility of the research.
To highlight the application and relevancy of the IA code, consider the following examples where the participant experience is not prioritized, and the recommendations on how to address. The recommendations are based on interpreting and operationalizing the four key Duty of Care principles of the IA Code of Standards:
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Transparency
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Respect
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Fairness
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Honesty
Issue: Lack of Transparency
Consider an online survey where participants are not informed about the estimated time commitment, or they are misled to think it’s shorter than it is. Midway through the survey, they realize it is much longer than anticipated, leading to frustration and a higher likelihood of incomplete or erroneous responses. Similarly non-transparent, in a focus group setting, participants may feel uneasy if they are not informed about the recording of the session or the confidentiality measures in place.
Recommendations
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Clear Communication: Think about the participant as your research partner. Share a detailed introduction at the beginning of the study, explaining the purpose, expected duration, and how the data will be used. Transparency builds trust and encourages participants to engage fully.
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Informed Consent: Ensure participants are aware of and consent to all aspects of the research, including any recording and data storage methods. This can be achieved through clear and concise consent forms.
Issue: Lack of Respect
Imagine a survey designed to gather customer feedback on a new product that includes jargon-filled questions or complicated and tedious response tasks. As a result, participants may become frustrated and either abandon the survey or provide random answers just to finish it quickly.
Recommendations
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User-Friendly Design: Design surveys with the participant in mind. Use clear, simple language and ensure that questions are relevant and straightforward. Design for simplicity of response and minimize tedium. Pilot testing the survey with a small group before full deployment can help identify and rectify any problematic areas.
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Optimal Length: Keep surveys concise and to the point. If a longer survey is necessary, consider breaking it into sections or offering incentives for completion to maintain participant engagement.
Issue: Lack of Fairness
A company attempts to conduct a multi-day bulletin board study without offering any form of incentive. As a result, they struggle to gather enough responses, and those who do participate may not be as motivated to provide thoughtful and thorough answers.
Recommendations
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Appropriate Incentives: Offer meaningful incentives that reflect (but don’t necessarily directly compensate for) the time and effort required from participants. This could include monetary compensation, gift cards, or entries into a prize draw.
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Acknowledgment: Thank participants for their time and provide feedback on how their contributions have impacted the research. This can be done through follow-up emails or updates on the study's outcomes. In-survey encouragement and acknowledgement of the participant’s work completed has also been proven effective.
Issue: Lack of Honesty
Consider research conducted among a hotel chain’s customer list purportedly testing several new vacation travel concepts. The day after the participant completes the research, they receive a personalized offer to purchase the vacation concept they rated the highest in the research. Participants had no idea their responses were going to be used to personalize direct marketing efforts.
Recommendations
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Honesty in Purpose: Clearly distinguish between research and non-research activities. Inform participants if their data might be used for non-research purposes and obtain their consent for such uses.
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Avoid Misuse: Ensure that research data is not used to take direct actions towards participants without their consent. Use research techniques ethically and within the agreed-upon scope.
Conclusion
Optimizing participant experience is essential for obtaining high-quality and reliable data. It is critical that all researchers incorporate and adhere to the four key Duty of Care principles: Transparency, Respect, Fairness, and Honesty to ensure a positive participant experience which helps to support the credibility of the data being collected. More broadly, respecting and protecting our participants is respecting and protecting our industry.
About the Author: David Rothstein
A member of IA's Standards Committee, David is the owner and CEO of RTi Research, a mid-sized research agency with a four-decade track record of turning data into meaning through smart research design, flawless execution, and innovative storytelling. RTi is a frequent winner of the Connecticut Top Workplace award. David served as a board member to CASRO (2012-2016) and to the Insights Association (2017-2021). During his board tenure, David held an Executive Committee position for seven of the ten years, and was elected Chairman of the Board for the Insights Association (2019) and for CASRO (2016). David is also an elected member of the Market Research Council. During his more than 25 years marketing and marketing research experience, David has led and worked on hundreds of projects for a variety of Fortune 500 clients. He has deep expertise in quantitative research, and in helping clients move their ideas and insights through their organizations to influence change. In addition to sharing that expertise with staff and clients, David is a regular guest lecturer at New York University. David holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from the Rochester Institute of Technology and an M.B.A. from the Simon School at the University of Rochester.