Global market research industry gets first ISO quality mark

The first-ever set of agreed global minimum quality standards for the market, opinion and social research industries have been launched today – promising to put MR agencies across the world on an equal footing.

Experts from MRQSA, the UK research quality standards association, outlined the requirements of the new ISO mark in London today.

It was the culmination of more than two years of development work involving 22 participating member countries.

Bill Blyth, chairman of MRQSA, said: “The benefits of transparent, unanimously agreed international standards is that they overcome barriers to trade and reassure both internal and external clients that agencies can definitely do basic research.

“We have deliberately designed the voluntary standards to work in developing countries where companies may not have computers or telephones. This means it works for everybody in any market and is as simple as it can be.

“However, this is work in progress…the best stab we could make in the process of difficult worldwide negotiations. What we have isn't perfect and amendments and improvements will no doubt take place over time.”

The differences between ISO 20252 and the departing UK standard, BS 7911, are numerous. Some of the new requirements are:

• Internal quality audits at pre-determined intervals

• Measuring customer/client satisfaction with an agency's service

• Translation of questionnaires and related material to be carried out by individuals with ‘mother tongue' competence in the language

• Explicit identification of potential problems in sampling and responses

• All self-completion questionnaires to be pre-tested

• If automatic coding is used, estimation of error rates are required

• Additional information to be included in stand-alone tables and delivered to client

• Methodological details to be passed to client whether they want it or not

• To include reasons why achieved sample fell short of what was intended and comment on reliability of findings.

• Limitations of projecting results to overall population to be stated for qualitative research

Penny Steele, chairman of the Interviewer Quality Control Scheme, said: “In terms of fieldwork, the requirements of the new ISO include all key elements of the BS 7911. However they are less detailed and prescriptive as we wanted to create an international standard that recognized and acknowledged how fieldwork is carried out in all the different countries.”

The key fieldwork differences include:

• The data, duration and identity of the interviewer must be recorded

• For qualitative recruitment all respondents must be validated, their ID confirmed and documented.

• No specific requirements for supervisor recruitment or training

• The use of written invitations for qual respondents or prior checking of new qual venues have gone

• Basic training for face-to-face interviewers is now 6 hours not 12 but now the standards specify 6 hours for qual recruiters

• Appraisal for field based interviews that carry out five or more projects/waves per calendar year must be appraised at least once a year not twice and it is no longer mandatory that it is face-to-face

“Obviously any company can exceed these standards as many currently do and you may choose to keep some or all of the old mandatory requirements in your procedures and system,” said Steele.

Debrah Harding, MRS policy and communications director, said that the ISO 20252 does not require adherence to, or cover all topics of the MRS Code of Conduct. But the Code requirements added to ISO 20252 are:

• Confidentiality of research recordings

• Limitations on use of research recordings

• Publication of research results

• Retention of primary records

Peter Jackson, administrator for the MRQSA, said that up until May 2007 both BS 7911 and ISO 20252 would run concurrently. “Agencies have two choices, either make no change or switch assessment to ISO 20252 at the next stage of surveillance.”