Global ISO team revises MR standard

At a working group in Tokyo members of bodies including MRS (representing the UK), VMÖ (Austria), CMRA (China), JMRA (Japan), MOA (Netherlands), AMSRS (Australia), MRIA (Canada), ANEIMO (Spain), ARIA (the Americas), ESOMAR and WAPOR met to revise the standards.

The Working Group of the ISO Technical Committee 225 (TC 225 ) was looking to improve navigability with clearly defined, separate areas to support the various sectors within the market, social, and opinion research industry.

The ISO updating process will take at least one more year, and research service suppliers working towards certification to either ISO 20252 or ISO 26362 should continue their efforts. All the current requirements will be incorporated in the new combined standard, plus new additions that reflect the changes in research practices, including leading edge technologies, since the standards were finalised in 2012 and 2009.

The standard covers topics such as project management requirements, proposals and tenders, and project execution for various methodologies including sampling, fieldwork, observation, self-completion, data management and processing.