The Market Research Society (MRS) is the world’s leading research association and is used by everyone who has equity in, or uses market, social and opinion research. Its Code of Conduct is the de-facto code of good conduct for organisations undertaking research, including client feedback and customer opinion studies.
With the advent of GDPR and the increased scrutiny about the collection and use of personal data, a new version of the MRS Code of Conduct was released by the MRS on 1st October 2019, replacing the current 2014 Code to reflect evolving ethical best practice and recent significant changes in the data protection framework; it becomes effective from 1st Jan 2020.
The new 2019 code has the following main changes:
- Broader scope and coverage - the scope of the Code has been broadened in order to better reflect and promote the rights of participants and individuals, as well as protecting the reputation of all professional activities conducted by members and MRS Company Partners.
- Revision of substantive rules - the substantive rules of the Code have been also revised and expanded. The Code is now divided into three main sections, with sub-sections that follow a research cycle: awareness and adherence with legislation, commissioning and design, and the general rules of data accountability.
- Key new rules - the broader scope and coverage of the new Code is reflected in new rules covering data analytics and non-research activities. Best ethical practice is reinforced by new rules covering vulnerable people, underlining the importance of the MRS members’ professional activities being widely accessible.
- Improved readability and usability .
The new Code of Conduct applies to all MRS Members and MRS Company Partners.