By Liane Ringham, National Chairman of the Australian Market & Social Research Society - 1999-2000. The Australian Market & Social Research Society is the professional association of individuals engaged in market and social research and is the voice of the market research industry. What does the community want?
Market research
Privacy and Market Research
Specific implications
References 1. What does the community want? There are at least four research studies in the area of privacy amongst the broad Australian community. Two are tracking studies which commenced in 1990. This level of research compares favourably with that in the UK, USA and New Zealand. The broad issues emerging from the Australian research are summarised below. I refer interested parties to the comprehensive original research studies cited at the conclusion of this document. I would particularly like to acknowledge that the following draws heavily from the comprehensive study conducted in 1994 for the Privacy Commissioner and the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission by Roy Morgan Research. - Privacy is an important issue for Australians
- There is a general understanding that collection of personal information is appropriate for effective planning and are in many instances necessary and beneficial
- The community is not particularly well informed about either existing safeguards or specific benefits of data collection or databasing
- The community wants more control of how personal information is collected, stored and used
- New technology is a spearhead of the concern - there is apprehension about what it is now possible to do rather than actual experiences of serious abuse.
Privacy is an important concern for the community In the most recent Roy Morgan (1994) survey, about 75 per cent of respondents ranked 'confidentiality of personal information' as being very important. Confidentiality of personal information was ranked ahead of the economy and the environment, and second only to education in a list of social issues. Half, or 50 per cent, feel that they have less privacy in their daily lives than they did ten years ago and a majority of Australians feel that they have no real privacy because the Government can learn anything it wants about them. "You're on every record and every computer, the Tax Department, the Attorney General, you name it. Big Brother is there..." (AGB:McNair Qualitative Information Privacy Issues Group Discussions, Key Findings Report 1990). However, when it comes to the specifics, trust was fairly high. Only a small minority indicated they were not at all satisfied to trust Government organisations. Private organisations were seen as potentially less trustworthy. It is relevant, however, that much research in the corporate arena of relationship marketing, customer retention and customer satisfaction shows that establishing trustworthy relationships with customers makes good business sense. Trust is a part of the goodwill or equity of a brand name which translates into long-term market share, and potentially increases the value of a brand as a saleable asset. There is a general understanding that collection of personal information is appropriate for effective planning and is in many instances necessary and beneficial The Roy Morgan survey found that more than 50 per cent of the people surveyed don't mind companies using personal details as long as they know about it, and can stop it. The following quotation comes from qualitative research conducted by AGB:McNair Information Privacy Issues Group Discussions, Key Findings Report (1990). "I think I feel relatively comfortable with most institutions because I've never had any information used against me. So really I have to plead ignorant to how much (information) institutions have stored on me or how they could use it, manipulate it, or provide it to other organisations. I really don't know but as I've never had it used against me, I have no reason not to trust them." According to the Roy Morgan 1994 report, people are more likely to accept companies collecting and using their personal information when they understand, agree, and benefit from the process. As the report states, Australians are not paranoid - they accept that personal information will be collected and that it can benefit them. The community is not particularly well informed about existing safeguards The Roy Morgan 1994 privacy research also dealt with the level of knowledge of privacy. There is limited knowledge in the community about existing protections and people are uncertain about where to go with a query or a complaint. The community wants more control how personal information is collected, stored and used The Roy Morgan report states while there is acceptance that there are benefits from their personal information being collected, Australians feel they do not have enough control over the information handling process. Least trusted with personal information are organisations trying to sell something, such as mail order companies, retail stores, insurance companies and other financial institutions. In 1994, 90 per cent wanted to know when their personal information is being collected, what use it would be put to and whether it would be transferred to anyone else. And 90 per cent thought they should be asked for permission before their personal data could be passed from one organisation to another. There is some information we are not very concerned about giving to organisations. We are slightly more concerned about keeping our job and health history private. We definitely do not like disclosing information about buying habits, credit ratings or criminal convictions. According to the Roy Morgan 1994 report, in every privacy commission survey from 1990 to 1994 people expressed most concern about giving commercial organisations details about themselves such as how much money they had, how much they earn and their tax file numbers. In 1990, 67 per cent said they did not want mail order companies to know how much money they had. In 1991, the figure rose to 77 per cent. Most people did not want retailers, companies, schools, employers, the police or credit reference associations to have access to their personal information. 50 per cent of those surveyed did not want private companies obtaining names and addresses to send them mail-outs about services and products. This needs to be balanced against those who want to receive mailings or who have no clear objections to them. On the whole, the community is not worried about organisations such as credit or insurance providers checking records to see if applicants have been honest. According to the Roy Morgan 1994 report, most Australians believe it is generally all right for such business to check bankruptcy and debt judgement records when processing applications for credit. New technology is a spearhead of the concern Concerns are driven by the unknown impacts of technologies and perhaps future, as yet unknown, technologies. Nearly 80 per cent in the 1994 Roy Morgan survey think computers have made it easier for confidential personal information to fall into the wrong hands. "All this seems to have been since computers came in, they have at the press of a button all the information about you. If they had papers about you, you can bet they wouldn't know half as much as they do with computers." "Well once upon a time it would never go outside those walls but now with computers anybody could just press a button and be into your information." (AGB:McNair Information Privacy Issues Group Discussions, Key Findings Report 1990). Back to top 2. Market research - what is it and how is it different from other forms of information data basing? Market research includes social, qualitative, quantitative or survey research and involves the systematic collection and objective recording of information from individuals or organisations. This information is aggregated and analysed to investigate the behaviour, needs, attitudes, opinions and motivations of a whole population or a particular part of population. Market, social and survey research is based on scientific principles which make it possible to determine with confidence, the attitudes or opinions of a large group from research carried out with a representative sample of individuals (or organisations) selected at random from that group. The information collected is used for statistical and research purposes and is not passed on, or presented to any party, or published in a form that would enable any individual respondent to be identified. Attention is drawn to the clear distinction between market, social and survey research and direct marketing or direct selling. Market, social and survey research seeks to benefit the community by providing accurate information to assist the decision making processes of Government, Government agencies, commercial and not for profit organisations. Market, social and survey research specifically does not include activities related to direct selling, or preparing to offer goods or services for sale, such as: (a) Requesting personal information as a lead-in to offering goods or services for sale (selling under the guise of market research or "sugging"); and
(b) Collecting personal information to identify prospects for subsequent selling or marketing activities. The following activities are not market, social and survey research and are specifically prohibited by the AMSRS Code of Professional Behaviour. (Notes to Rule 15 of the AMSRS Code - p9 of Appendix 1 refer): - Inquiries whose objectives are to obtain personal information about private individuals per se, whether for legal, political, supervisory (e.g. job performance), private or other purposes
- The acquisition of information for use for credit-rating or similar purposes
- The compilation, updating or enhancement of lists, registers or databases which are not exclusively for research purposes (e.g. which will be used for direct marketing or prospecting)
- Industrial, commercial or any other form of espionage Sales or promotional approaches to individual respondents The collection of debts
- Direct or indirect attempts, including by the design of the questionnaire, to influence a respondent's opinions, attitudes or behaviour on any issue, such as push polling.
Market, social and survey research is an essential part of modern decision making. For example, the Australian Government operates the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) to collect and provide statistical information to facilitate 'informed decision making' by both Government and business organisations. The services of the market, social and survey research industry are widely used by Governments and Government agencies, and by commercial and not for profit organisations to collect accurate and timely information about issues relevant to their activities to support their decision making processes. In Australia, the annual expenditure on market, social and survey research is estimated to be about $500 million (including the ABS) and the industry provides employment for more than 20,000 people (including both full-time and part-time employees). Back to top 3. Privacy and Market Research The professional practice of market, social and survey research in Australia is controlled by the AMSRS Code of Professional Behaviour to which all members of AMSRS and principals of AMSRO member organisations commit themselves to annually by signature as a condition of their membership. The AMSRS has adopted the International Code prepared jointly by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the European Society for Opinion and Market Research (ESOMAR) as the AMSRS Code of Professional Behaviour. The AMSRS Code of Professional Behaviour specifically seeks to protect the privacy of individuals through protection of personal information. Market and social research is based on the willing co-operation of the public and the business community. Such co-operation depends on public and business confidence that market research is carried out honestly and objectively using processes that protect the identity and rights of individuals, and without any unwelcome intrusion. The following summary of key principles relating to the responsibilities of researchers to respondents has been taken from the text of the Code for illustration purposes (they are not a substitute for the full text of the Code). - Respondents' identities must not be revealed without their consent to anyone not directly involved in the market research project (including the client who commissioned the work) or used for any non-research purpose.
- Nobody shall be adversely affected or harmed as a direct result of participating in a market research study. Respondents must be able to check without difficulty the identity and bona fides of researchers.
- Respondents' co-operation in a market research project is entirely voluntary at all stages; they must not be misled when being asked for their co-operation.
- No child under 14 years shall be interviewed without parent's/ guardian's/responsible adult's consent.
Rule 4 of the Market Research Code of Professional Behaviour which relates to respondent privacy states: 'All indications of the identity of respondents should be physically separated from the records of the information they have provided as soon as possible after the completion of any necessary fieldwork quality checks. The researchers must ensure that any information which might identify respondents is stored securely, and separately from the other information they have provided, and that access to such material is restricted to authorised research personnel within the researcher's own organisation for specific research purposes (e.g. field administration, DP, panel or longitudinal studies or other forms of research involving recall interviews). To preserve respondents' anonymity not only their names and addresses but also any other information provided by or about them which could in practice identify them (eg: their company and job title) must be safe-guarded. These anonymity requirements may be relaxed only under the following safeguards: a) where the respondent has given explicit permission for this under the conditions of 'informed consent' summarised in Rule 4a and 4b
b) where disclosure of names to a third party (e.g. a sub-contractor) is essential for any research purpose such as data processing or further interview (e.g. an independent fieldwork quality check) or for further follow-up research. The original researcher is responsible for ensuring that any third party agrees to observe the requirements of this Code - in writing, if the third party has not already formally subscribed to the Code.' In this and other respects, the practice of market research is totally different from customer profiling and databasing used for selling to individuals. How does this work in practice? In the process of quantitative survey research, names and addresses are collected and recorded on questionnaires. The respondent is asked for this information and is given the opportunity to refuse. These names are kept for a short period of time (generally no more than 10 days) for quality control purposes. This is so that interviews can be verified as true interviews conducted in accordance with instructions. It is a specific requirement of the practice of market research and a requirement of membership of the AMSRS that the names of records are separated after quality control procedures have been carried out. There are many types of market research which each have specific privacy considerations. These include: - Qualitative research, group discussions and depth interviews
- Customer list research (which represents a significant but relatively small proportion of market research - industry estimate less than 10%). In this instance, names are supplied by client organisations to independent researchers for interview.
- Instances where recontact is necessitated because follow-up is necessary such as in a product test, or panel research.
The Market Research industry here (and in the rest of the world) is concerned about the practice of selling under the guise of market research and the similar practice known as push advocacy (also known as push polling). Such practices are specifically banned both under the AMSRS Code of Professional Behaviour and the 'Distance Selling Code of Practice' currently being implemented by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. Since the early 90s, the Market Research Society and AMSRO (the association of corporations which are involved in market research) have worked together to put in place a set of auditing procedures. These procedures are administered by an independent legal body called the Market Research Quality Assurance Inc, which was formed to set and audit professional standards specific to market research. MRQA is increasing its capabilities in monitoring adherence to quality standards and the professional Code of practice. AMSRS, AMSRO and MRQA believe that quality cannot be separated from ethical considerations. Back to top 4. Specific implications of data protection and privacy for organisations commissioning research Because organisations that commission market research do not gain access to records including names, addresses and phone numbers of individuals or businesses, the introduction of a new privacy regime will not change the way research is commissioned for the vast majority of research projects in Australia. Potential risks to privacy could, in theory, arise when organisations conduct their own market research. In these instances, the end user of the research has possession of the research records. The organisation could deliberately or inadvertently place pressure on researchers in in-house market research, customer satisfaction or quality departments to provide confidential customer survey information into on-site customer or prospect databases for the purposes of selling to individuals. The Society knows of no instances where this practice is occurring. In closing, I wish to repeat some key points: - Market researchers must have community trust and goodwill, and an expectation that benefits will flow to the community from the results of the market research.
- To provide an appropriate environment for market research the AMSRS has a rigorous Code of Professional Behaviour which protects the privacy of individuals - among other considerations. AMSRS Members make an annual commitment to abide by this Code by signature. In most instances, the AMSRS Code of Behaviour is equivalent to or goes further than the privacy regime proposed for the private sector.
Consequently, the AMSRS has endorsed the proposed privacy legislation, in principle, because it endorses the status quo in the market research industry. Back to top References The Code of Professional Behaviour of the AMSRS, published by the Australian Market & Social Research Society, PO Box 697, North Sydney, NSW, 2059. Community Attitude to Privacy - Four surveys conducted since 1990 for the Privacy Commissioner. The latest conducted in 1994 by Roy Morgan Research. Information Privacy Issues Group Discussions, Key Findings Report 1990, conducted by AGB:McNair just before the first opinion poll. Perceptions of Privacy on AMR Qantum Harris's AustraliaSCAN social research survey, an Omnibus survey conducted in 1996 and previously in 1992, 1993, 1995. Privacy and Payments - A study of attitudes of the Australian public to privacy, conducted for Mastercard International by Roy Morgan research, 1996. Not available at the time of publication of this paper. Back to top
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