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Respondent Bill of Rights
Your participation in legitimate survey research is very important to us
and we value the information you provide. Therefore, our relationship
will be one of respect and consideration, based on the following
practices:
Your privacy and the confidentiality of your answers will be
respected and maintained.
Your name, address, personal information, answers, or
responses will never be disclosed to anyone outside the research
industry without your permission.
You will always be told the name of the person contacting you,
the research company's name and the nature of the survey.
You will not be sold anything, or asked for money, under the
guise of research.
You will be contacted at reasonable times, but if the time is
inconvenient, you may ask to be re-contacted at a more
convenient time.
Your decision to participate in a study, answer specific questions,
or discontinue your participation will be respected without
question.
You are assured that the highest standards of professional
conduct will be upheld in the collection and reporting of
information you provide.
Survey research is an important part of our democratic society,
allowing people to express their views on political and social issues, as
well as on products and services.
Researchers' Commitment to Maintaining Respondent Confidentiality
Information obtained through research is provided to clients
without being individually identifiable. Researchers will never
divulge your identity or individual answers unless you specifically
give the researcher permission to do so. Also, researchers will
never sell or give your name or phone number to anyone else.
No one will ever contact you as a result of your participation in a
survey except perhaps to validate that you did in fact participate.
Researchers' Commitment to Privacy
The goal of the research industry is to strike a balance between
the need for information to improve people's lives and protecting
the privacy of the people who participate in such research.
Hence, interviewers will always identify themselves and state the
reason for their call at the beginning of each survey. Research
interviewers should be courteous and respect your time by
calling back at a more convenient time if necessary. They will
answer your questions as completely as possible and politely
honor your decision not to participate in a particular research
study if you so choose.
Differences between Research and Sales
While both the research industry and sales-related industries use
the same mediums to conduct their business (i.e. telephone,
mail, internet, email), there are some important differences.
Sales-related industries want to sell you something.
A survey researcher simply wants to ask your opinion.
Selling, in any form, is different than survey research. The
purpose of a sales call, email, fax, or mail solicitation is to
encourage the purchase of goods or services. Conversely, the
purpose of research (in any form - telephone, mail, in-person
interview, door-to-door, mall, focus group, or Internet) is to
gather information and opinions from members of the public to
measure public opinions of products and services or social and
political issues. Occasionally, survey research companies will
offer a gift to the respondent in appreciation of his or her
cooperation. Such a gift could be a cash donation to a charity, a
product sample, or a nominal monetary award.
Your Opinion Counts
Companies and institutions want to know how you view their
products and services. Some want feedback on critical social
issues so they can better meet your needs. By answering survey
questions, you make your opinions known to the people who
have the power to make the changes you want. Your answers to
survey research questions influence many decisions that affect
you as a consumer and a citizen.
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