In the United States we are ambivalent about privacy. We twitter, we blog, and we post the most intimate details of our lives on Facebook. And yet . . . we feel uncomfortable about how our information is collected and used both by government entities and by private companies.
Each time new privacy protections are enacted here and abroad, the demise of survey research is predicted. Conversely, each time more invasive and high tech forms of data mining, tracking of individual activities and analysis of such activities are developed, the end of the survey research industry is proclaimed. Well, we're still here.
A large part of the reason for our industry's resilience in the face of these challenges has to do with our willingness to self-regulate. Survey research has long adhered to an internal code of ethics to protect respondent information. In recent years, the industry's ethical standards have expanded to address the challenges posed by changing technology. The CASRO (Council of American Survey Research Organizations) Code of Standards and Ethics for Survey Research covers all the bases in terms of collection, storage, reporting and dissemination of respondent data, no matter what the tools used for collecting that data.
The core promise to respondents, as expressed in the first section of the CASRO Code, is that respondents' identity and personally identifiable information will be protected from disclosure to third parties, including members of the public and even clients. This promise caused some practical difficulties since clients felt they had paid for and therefore owned the data collected and should be able to use it at will. The CASRO Code acknowledges clients' needs by permitting certain types of disclosure of personally identifiable information with a very important limitation. Under no circumstances may the information be used to individually target a respondent for any action. This restriction stems from the promise we make to people that the research is legitimate and not merely an excuse to sell. (In the trade, this is called "SUGGING" or Sales under the Guise of Research). It also protects people from retaliation by a service provider for a critical review, or for credit or other financial consequences triggered by an individual's responses to survey questions.
At Rockbridge, we adhere to the letter and spirit of the CASRO Code. We think privacy protections and rules shielding consumers from deceptive collection and use of their personal information are good for our industry. With declining response rates, due in part to sugging and other types of solicitation pretending to be research, we believe we can poin
t to our adherence to the Code as a way to reassure the public, and to encourage participation in legitimate research.
The revised CASRO Code includes provisions specifically aimed at Internet research. Some of the requirements are the result of anti-spam legislation. For Rockbridge, this means that it is important to vet the source of commercial lists or research panels to make sure they adhere to ethical standards. The most important rule is that individuals on a commercial list must be aware that they may be surveyed—a so called "opt in" list. They should be fully informed and aware of what they are opting into and be able to change their mind and later easily opt out. Under the Code and anti-spam rules, it is permissible for a client to conduct a survey of its own customers.
Other Code provisions help create a safe harbor so that research conducted in accord with these requirements will comply with the more restrictive European and global data collection standards. The Code section on "Active Agent Technology" addresses some of the practices that Congress may soon curtail. By self-regulating, our industry is able to argue for an exemption to blanket prohibitions of using a variety of technologies for legitimate research. We can use these technologies as long as we do it within boundaries. Most particularly we cannot be deceptive, collect information without the informed consent of the subject, and we cannot collect information in a way that could cause harm to the subject or his/her computer.
A final promise we make to respondents is that we will protect their personal information from disclosure. This might require encryption of files, destroying information after a project is completed, or not collecting unnecessary information in the first place. This is true whether the information is collected with paper and pencil, by web surveys, or via passive electronic means.
At Rockbridge, we strive to treat survey respondents with the utmost respect and to value their privacy rights and concerns. We do this because we think it is good for our business and our clients' business, and we do it because we think it is right.
For more information about Internet research, contact Gina Woodall, SVP at 703-757-5213 ext. 11 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , or Charles Colby, President, at 703.757.5213 ext. 12 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .