Home GRBN Initiatives Codes & Guidelines

Codes & Guidelines

    Learn more about the GRBN Codes & Guidelines initiative. Contact us if you want to get involved

    Latest

    GRBN and ESOMAR Recorded Webinar – Best practices when working with secondary data 4/5 (1)

    By
    GRBN_News
    -

    We are experiencing a digital revolution with more data available than ever before coming from secondary data resources such as transactional databases, social media networks, syndicated data, sensors, scanners and data aggregations constructed from a range of sources including from primary research.

    Watch this recorded webinar to understand the best practices when working with secondary data.

    The research and insight function is rapidly extending from collecting and processing primary data to managing, synthesising and analysing secondary data, using a wide variety of analytic concepts and techniques. The result is an entirely new approach wherein insights, and analytics professionals assemble and analyse large databases to uncover patterns and deliver powerful new insights.

    To take advantage of these exciting opportunities, researchers must be able respond to three key challenges. Firstly, the issues about who owns the data and under which conditions it can be used. Then the concerns about privacy, ethics, and reputational risk, given the increasing public disquiet about people’s ability to determine when their personal data is collected and how it is used. And thirdly, researchers need to ensure they can provide the right level of transparency to enable clients to make informed judgements about the quality of the data and data sources, as well as the validity of the algorithms that are used to analyse the data.

    To help researchers meet these challenges ESOMAR and GRBN have drafted best practice guidelines on how to work with secondary data for research.

    Download the Guideline

    ESOMAR and GRBN publish global guidance for organisations and professionals for processing secondary data for research

    By
    GRBN_News
    -

    Wednesday 8th June 2022

    ESOMAR and GRBN publish global guidance for organisations and professionals for processing secondary data for research.

    Guidance clarifies key responsibilities when collecting and using personal data Guidance clarifies key responsibilities when working with secondary data. 

    ESOMAR and the Global Research Business Network (GRBN) announce the release of a new guideline to support researchers applying new approaches in assembling and analysing large data bases to uncover patterns and deliver new insights.

    We are experiencing a digital revolution with more data available than ever before coming from secondary data resources such as transactional databases, social media networks, sensors, scanners and data aggregations constructed from a range of sources.
    The research and insight function is rapidly extending from collecting and processing primary data to managing, synthesising and analysing secondary data, using a wide variety of analytic concepts and techniques. In taking advantage of these exciting opportunities, researchers must uphold their ethical, legal and professional requirements to meet the needs of data subjects, clients and data owners.

    Drafted by research and privacy experts, this new Guideline includes an overview of the challenges that researchers must solve when using second- and third-party data. It also gives guidance on how to ensure that any personal data contained in secondary data is used with a legal basis and that there are adequate privacy safeguards in place to protect the data. In addition, the new Guideline highlights how to ensure that researchers provide the right level of transparency regarding data provenance and quality with respect to how the data is assembled and analysed so clients can make informed judgements about the validity of findings.

    Pravin Shekar, Director General of ESOMAR said:
    “Working with a wider range of data offers researchers and insights professionals exciting new opportunities. We must ensure that we recognise our duty of care to those whose personal data we use in our projects. Researchers and analysts need to be transparent to clients about the specifics of the data processing and analysis so they can assess its quality. This Guideline provides clear guidance on what they need to do to meet their responsibilities.”

    Andrew Cannon, Executive Director at GRBN comments:
    “There is an ever-growing amount of secondary data available to researchers creating fantastic opportunities to generate new insights and inform business decisions. This ESOMAR GRBN Guideline is an invaluable resource for researchers empowering them to take advantage of the opportunities whilst working ethically and responsibly with secondary data.” 

    It is vital that the high professional standards of ESOMAR and GRBN members are maintained throughout the course of any research project, underscoring the expertise within the sector, ensuring its long-term growth, and fostering trust from clients and the general public alike.

    Along with the Primary Data Collection and Duty of Care guidance previously published by ESOMAR and GRBN, this new Guideline ensures that researchers have a trusted source of support during all stages of any research project.

    Click here to access the new guideline

    Further Contact

    To discuss these materials and their application, please contact:

    GRBN for the local application of these guidelines – Andrew.cannon@grbn.org

    ESOMAR’s Professional Standards Committee – Kathy.joe@esomar.org

    About ESOMAR

    Established in 1948, ESOMAR champions the insights sector. It is the global community for every data, research and insights professional. ESOMAR is a network of 40,000+ professionals working in more than 800 organisations worldwide.

    As a non-profit membership organisation, its role is to:

    • promote the value of market, opinion and social research and data analytics,
    • provide ethical and professional guidance and advocate for the community
    • and strengthen international business connections

    About the Global Research Business Network

    The Global Research Business Network (GRBN) connects over 40 research associations and over 3,500 research businesses on six continents. More than US$24.9 billion in annual research revenues (turnover) are represented by these businesses. GRBN’s mission is to promote and advance the business of research by developing and supporting strong autonomous national research associations.

    ESOMAR_GRBN Guideline on Processing Secondary Data for Research

    By
    GRBN_News
    -

    Access the latest ESOMAR-GRBN guidance for processing secondary data for research:

    Download the Guideline

    ESOMAR and GRBN publish global guidance for organisations and professionals on fair use of data

    By
    GRBN_News
    -

    Monday 13th September 2021

    ESOMAR and GRBN publish global guidance for organisations and professionals on fair use of data.

    Guidance clarifies key responsibilities when collecting and using personal data

    ESOMAR and the Global Research Business Network (GRBN) are pleased to announce today the release of two new complementary guidelines that further strengthen ethical standard framework to be used by their respective memberships; Primary Data Collection and Duty of Care.

    These practical documents provide essential support to research, insight and data analytics practitioners and the organisations that work with them to best navigate important issues they encounter in their daily lives. The new guidance aims to better future proof ethical and professional practice at a time when the collection and use of data continues to accelerate, facilitated by new technologies. The guidance reinforces the importance of maintaining trust with participants and support practitioners to comply with existing and emerging legislation.

    The Primary Data Collection guideline guides practitioners and organisations when they collect data directly from or about a data subject for the purpose of their data, research and insights projects. The Duty of Care guidance reminds practitioners and organisations of their responsibilities to the privacy and well-being of their data subjects and outlines the key expectations taking into account established ethical and legal requirements.

    Finn Raben, Director General of ESOMAR said:
    “It is high time to refresh our commitments and ensure our standards keep up with an ecosystem where data science is mainstreaming and leading to a dramatic increase in the volume of personal data, much of it behavioural, being collected. The recognition of the potential value to societies and economies is only possible when responsible and ethical use of personal data occurs. In this context, these two documents are vital to industry progress in recognising our clear duty of care to those whose personal data we use in our projects.”

    Andrew Cannon, Executive Director at GRBN comments:
    “Trust is a fundamental to the future of our industry; trust by the general public, by clients and by regulators. Researchers’ ethical behaviour, especially with regard to privacy and the use of personal data, is central to maintaining and building this trust, and these two guidelines provide researchers with the essential guidance they need.”

    To access the new guidelines please see the links provided below.

    Primary Data Collection describes the ethical responsibilities of researchers, regardless of the type of organisation in which they work, when engaged in primary data collection, that is, when collecting data from or about a data subject for the purpose of research. It includes quantitative and qualitative methods that involve direct questioning of data subjects, but also methods of passive data collection in which the researcher observes,
    measures or records an individual’s actions or behaviour.

    https://esomar.org/guidance/primary-data-collection
    https://grbn.org/codes-guidelines/

    Duty of Care aims to advise researchers and those who do research on behalf of clients about their responsibility to protect the privacy and well-being of data subjects who participate in research or whose data is processed for a research purpose. It is
    also designed to provide guidance for those who commission research to ensure that they are fully aware of their responsibilities and to set expectations about what is and is not possible given established ethical and legal requirements.

    https://esomar.org/guidance/duty-of-care
    https://grbn.org/codes-guidelines/

    There will be a panel session at the Insights festival to take place 21-22 September 2021 which discusses these guidelines and their usage. To book a place at this session register to attend at the ESOMAR Insights Festival 2021 at https://esomar.org/events

    Further Contact

    To discuss these materials and their application, please get in touch with the following contact points;

    GRBN for the local application of these guidelines – Andrew.cannon@grbn.org

    ESOMAR’s Professional Standards Committee – Srikar Govindaraju, Senior Standards Programmes Coordinator at professional.standards@esomar.org

    For press queries – Kim Smouter, Head of Public Affairs & Standards at comms@esomar.org

    About ESOMAR

    Established in 1948, ESOMAR champions the insights sector. It is the global community for every data, research and insights professional. ESOMAR is a network of more 40.000+ professionals working in more than 800 organisations worldwide.

    As a non-profit membership organisation, its role is to:
    • promote the value of market, opinion and social research and data analytics,
    • provide ethical and professional guidance and advocating for the community for over 70 years,
    • and strengthen international business connections

    About the Global Research Business Network

    The Global Research Business Network (GRBN) connects over 40 research associations and over 3500 research businesses on six continents. More than US$24.9 billion in annual research revenues (turnover) are represented by these businesses.

    GRBN’s mission is to promote and advance the business of research by developing and supporting strong autonomous national research associations.

    New ESOMAR/GRBN Guidelines for Primary Data Collection and Duty of Care Open for Consultation – Have Your Say

    By
    GRBN_News
    -
    Two new guidelines are now up for public consultation. You are invited to share your opinion and suggest amendments. 

    The first guideline for consultation is the ESOMAR/GRBN guideline for researchers and clients involved in primary data collection. Instead of drafting guidelines for each of the research methodologies, ESOMAR and GRBN have chosen to combine the basic ethical principles for each methodology into three overarching guidelines. This will be the first of these guidelines. 

    The primary data collection guideline covers the ethical principles for any type of research in which the researcher has direct interaction with the people participating. Methodologies included are for example, surveys, focus groups, in-depth interviews, ethnographic studies, and some forms of observational research, including mystery shopping. 

    The second guideline is the ESOMAR/GRBN guideline on duty of care. This guideline is to advise anyone working with personal data on their responsibilities to protect the privacy and well-being of the data subjects. It also reflects on some specific research related risks, and new technologies which could increase the risk of an individual being targeted as a result of them having shared their data. 

    The guideline may also help individuals, clients, researchers and their employees in distinguishing research activities from non-research activities meant to take direct action towards individual data subjects. 

    We invite you to share your opinion on each of these guidelines and welcome any feedback you may have. To do so, you can download the guideline, insert your comments and/or suggested changes by 30 September and send it to professional.standards@esomar.org.  

    Global Insights – September 2019 – Special Edition

    By
    GRBN_News
    -
    Global_Insights
    New ESOMAR/GRBN Guidelines for Primary Data Collection and Duty of Care Open for Consultation Your chance to have a say

    Two new guidelines are now up for public consultation. You are invited to share your opinion and suggest amendments. 

    The first guideline for consultation is the ESOMAR/GRBN guideline for researchers and clients involved in primary data collection. Instead of drafting guidelines for each of the research methodologies, ESOMAR and GRBN have chosen to combine the basic ethical principles for each methodology into three overarching guidelines. This will be the first of these guidelines. 

    The primary data collection guideline covers the ethical principles for any type of research in which the researcher has direct interaction with the people participating. Methodologies included are for example, surveys, focus groups, in-depth interviews, ethnographic studies, and some forms of observational research, including mystery shopping. 

    The second guideline is the ESOMAR/GRBN guideline on duty of care. This guideline is to advise anyone working with personal data on their responsibilities to protect the privacy and well-being of the data subjects. It also reflects on some specific research related risks, and new technologies which could increase the risk of an individual being targeted as a result of them having shared their data. 

    The guideline may also help individuals, clients, researchers and their employees in distinguishing research activities from non-research activities meant to take direct action towards individual data subjects. 

    We invite you to share your opinion on each of these guidelines and welcome any feedback you may have. To do so, you can download the guideline, insert your comments and/or suggested changes by 30 September and send it to professional.standards@esomar.org.
    Insights Association’s CEO SUMMIT EUROPE Edinburgh, UK, September 11-13  Find out more and register   Creating Competitive Advantage – Insights Association’s Corporate Researcher Conference

    Orlando, Florida, USA, October 22-24  Find out more and register

    New GRBN Research Guidance

    By
    GRBN_News
    -
    A new guideline for undertaking research and data analytics with children, young people and other vulnerable individuals has been issued as part of GRBN’s standards partnership with ESOMAR.  The new guidance sets out the relevant legal, Code and best practice requirements, and is an essential reference document for any practitioners undertaking research with children and/or vulnerable participants. The focus of the guidance is on respecting the privacy, protecting the welfare and taking steps to reduce potential for harm across a range of methodological approaches when researching children, young people and vulnerable adults. So who do we mean by children? The definition of children varies across the globe and whilst the ESOMAR/GRBN guideline defines a child as being someone under the age of 12 and a young person as someone aged between 13 years and 17 years, it is essential that practitioners became familiar with national and international definitions as in many countries the definition of a child is someone older.  The UN Convention on the Rights of a Child for example defines children as those under 18 years of age unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier.  Within research the age varies e.g. the US Insight Association’s definition of children and young people is the same as the ESOMAR/GRBN definition whilst in Australia a child is defined as under 14 years. Within many countries there are also legal requirements for pre-employment screening of adults and volunteers who come into contact with children, and these can apply to researchers who undertake research with children e.g. in Australia pre-employment screening is mandatory, and applies to researchers moderating groups or conducting depth interviews as well as interviewers working on quantitative projects (see the AMSRS Guideline on Interviewing Children and Young People). And what is a vulnerable participant? Within the ESOMAR/GRBN guidance vulnerable adults are defined as those with “…limited capacity to make voluntary and informed decisions…”.  The legal and ethical requirements also vary considerably between counties and practitioners are advised to take a broad approach when considering whether vulnerable participants may be part of their research. Vulnerability is a dynamic, complex state which can be short-term or long-term that can fluctuate over time, and can affect anyone at any time for many difference reasons; and as such practitioners need to be aware and trained to ensure all necessary steps are taken to avoid any possible harm. In the UK, the MRS has produced separate guidance on vulnerability which explores vulnerability and the differences between permanent, short-term and fluctuating vulnerabilities providing guidance on methodological considerations and includes questions to help practitioners recognise vulnerability plus guidance on common mistakes. Anything else on this horizon? Concerns about children and vulnerable adults remains an evolving and changing landscape across research, analytics and marketing primarily due to concerns about social media and digital data.  There are a number of initiatives which are taking place at both a national and international levels for which members of GRBN are involved including:
    • A proposed ISO standard on advertising and marketing to children. GRBN member associations including MRS are involved in consultations on this document and are in touch with ISO regarding developments
    • A number of countries are looking at age appropriate design, the most recent being the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (the UK data protection regulator) recently issued draft consultation document, Age Appropriate Design: A Code of Practice for Online Services, which contains 16 standards of age-appropriate design for information society services likely to be accessed by children. EFAMRO’s EU Policy Manager, Camilla Ravazzolo, has been involved in the sector’s response to this document.
    Resources via GRBN The NEW ESOMAR/GRBN Guidelines on Research and Data Analytics with Children, Young People and Other /vulnerable Individuals (link) The NEW ESOMAR/GRBN Research with Children one page reference document (link) References: National Association Guidance AMSRS Guidelines on Interviewing Children and Young People MRS Guidelines for Research with Children and Young People MRS Best Practice Guide on Research Participant Vulnerability Insights Association Code of Ethics ICO Age Appropriate Design: A Code of Practice for Online Services UN Convention on the Rights of a Child

    ESOMAR/GRBN Guideline for Research With Children and Vulnerable Individuals Launched

    By
    GRBN_News
    -
    New guideline highlights best practices for research and data analytics involving children, young people and other vulnerable individuals ESOMAR and GRBN are pleased to announce the launch of their joint Guideline for Research and Data Analytics with Children, Young People and Other Vulnerable Individuals. This joint guideline was drafted so parents and guardians can feel confident when their child participates in research or when their data is being analysed for research purposes. Working with children and vulnerable individuals demands a specific approach and extra care by research professionals, as required explicitly by the ethical Codes of Conduct for research and data analytics. Finn Raben, Director General of ESOMAR said: “When children or vulnerable people are involved in research or data analytics, researchers must be attentive to the ethical and practical considerations, because society expects us to. With ongoing developments in privacy legislation, we have a responsibility to take extra care when we want to gain insights from vulnerable individuals. ESOMAR and GRBN expect practitioners to consider the ethical requirements to prevent harm and address legitimate concerns.”   The opinions and attitudes of children, young people, and vulnerable individuals are often sought to improve services and products designed for them. New insights about them are gained from traditional questionnaires designed specifically for this group, and increasingly, through analysis of data collected about them. The focus of this guideline is not the technical problems of such research, but the legal, ethical and practical considerations. This guideline puts the wellbeing of these individuals, including the child, first. ESOMAR and GRBN have included policies for the latest research techniques to ensure no child is incidentally harmed. Andrew Cannon, Executive Director of the Global Research Business Network, added: “Getting consent for research with children is not always easy, especially in the online environment, and we are delighted that we have improved guidance for practitioners. The guideline allows for a local response to a shared global concern. We trust our sector to ensure that the content and circumstances of the data collection will not upset or disturb parents and guardians. As research technologies continue to evolve, our guidance will evolve to clarify the changing legal and ethical needs.” This new Guideline reaffirms global principles and how they should be applied by researchers worldwide. It was drafted with recent developments in privacy laws and technological changes in mind. This Guideline recognises that the age of child varies from one country to another and that local culture dictates who can give consent for studies involving children. It highlights the need to treat children, their parents, and vulnerable individuals with due respect and consideration. The guideline includes:
    • How to get appropriate consent in online surveys.
    • What parents and guardians need to know before their child participates in the study.
    • Measures to take when children are doing product testing.
    • What researchers should do when working with children’s data on social media, with photos or audio/video recordings of children
    The new guideline can be access from here.

    # # #

    About ESOMAR ESOMAR is the global voice of the data, research and insights community, speaking on behalf of over 5000 individual professionals and more than 500 companies who provide or commission data analytics and research in more than 130 countries, all of whom agree to uphold the ICC/ESOMAR International Code. Together with national and international research associations, we set and promote professional standards and self-regulation for our sector and encourage, advance and advocate the role and value of data analytics, market and opinion research in illuminating real issues and bringing about effective decision-making. The ICC/ESOMAR Code and all ESOMAR guidelines are available on www.esomar.org. For further information contact Finn Raben at finn.raben@esomar.org About GRBN Global Research Business Network, GRBN, connects 4 regional federations, over 40 national market, social and opinion research associations and over 3500 research businesses on six continents. GRBN’s mission is to promote and advance the business of research by developing and supporting strong autonomous national research associations. More information about GRBN and its initiatives can be found at www.grbn.org For further information contact Andrew Cannon at andrew.cannon@grbn.org

    ISO Changes Ahead

    By
    GRBN_News
    -
    Since 2016 experts from around the globe have been updating ISO 20252, the main ISO standard for research.  Work is nearing completion and the new standard should be issued in early 2019. The new ISO 20252 standard will be significantly different from the current 2012 version and businesses certified to the current standard should start to make themseleves familar with the changes, which include:
    • Integration of the mandatory requirements from the other two research standards:
      • ISO 26362: 2009, Access Panels in Market, Opinion and Social Research – Vocabulary and Service Requirements
      • ISO 19731: 2017, Digital Analytics and Web Analyses for Purposes of Market, Opinion and Social research – Vocabulary and Service Requirements
    • Restructure of the ’core requirements’ of the standard
    • Differentiation of the core requirements from the methodology specific requirements
    • Removal of duplication where it existed
    • Creation of new Annexes for specific methodologies
    • Addition of requirements for new and emerging issues such as data analytics, automation and so on.
    • Clarification that organisations’ undertake certification to relevant Annexes which are appropriate to business activities
    Every business certified to the ISO standard will have to comply with the core requirements and at least one of the Annexes.  The new Annexes are:
    • Annex A —Sampling including access panels
    • Annex B —Fieldwork
    • Annex C —Physical observation
    • Annex D —Digital observation
    • Annex E —Self completion
    • Annex F —Data management and processing
    To help practitioners and businesses MRS has issued a webinar summarising the proposed changes prepare for the changes.  The webinar is available via the MRS website and the ISO website. Debrah_Harding Debrah Harding Managing Director, MRS 22nd August 2018

    New draft ESOMAR/GRBN Guidelines for Children, Young People and Vulnerable Adults – Participate in the consultation

    By
    GRBN_News
    -
    A digital consultation process for the new ESOMAR/GRBN Guideline on Research and Data Analytics with Children, Young People and Vulnerable Individuals has been launched. To participate in the consultation please use the Multivote platform on which the consultation is hosted. The consultation will also be accessible via the GRBN website. It is possible to create an account on Multivote, or to login using your Facebook, Gmail or Twitter account. On the platform you will find a link to the new guideline, and you can click on “Leave your comment” to post short feedback (300 words). A longer explanation of your feedback can be given via a comment on the feedback. You are invited to also upvote and/or comment on the feedback left by others. By using Multivote, ESOMAR and GRBN wish to provide the global research, insights and data analytics community with a more transparent and engaging guideline consultation process. We hope that you will join and participative actively in the online consultation and on other joint guideline consultations in the future. The online consultation for the guideline closes on 28 February 2018. After that, ESOMAR and GRBN will review all feedback and update the guideline as appropriate.

    12Page 1 of 2
    © Global Research Business Network
    X
    X