Our Guidelines

The following principles summarize the ideas enshrined in the PMRS Code of Conduct. These principles are founded upon the history of practice of marketing research in Canada, the ICC/ESOMAR Code of Marketing and Social Research and the principles underlying the Personal Information Protection and Electronics Documents Act (PIPEDA).

PRINCIPLE 1: CONSENT

Contact with members of the public is at all times to be undertaken with their consent and with observance of their right to withdraw at any time.

PRINCIPLE 2: PUBLIC CONFIDENCE

Members should act in a manner that serves to promote and augment, not diminish, the confidence of the public in research in general.

PRINCIPLE 3: PUBLIC’S RIGHT TO PRIVACY

The use of research data should extend only to those purposes for which consent was received. The public’s desire for privacy and anonymity is to be respected.

PRINCIPLE 4: ACCURACY

Members agree to recommend those research methods which are appropriate to the research goals, and to avoid conducting research which would be inaccurate or misleading. Members must be accurate in all aspects of research and refrain from purporting or suggesting levels of accuracy which are greater than is warranted by the nature of the research. Members shall report and interpret their results in a manner that represents these results accurately and acknowledges such limitations on the research which, in the absence of such acknowledgement, might mislead.

PRINCIPLE 5: ETHICAL PRACTICE

Members shall at all times act honestly, ethically and fairly in their dealings with all members of the public, clients, employers, sub-contractors and each other. They will refrain from activities which show disrespect or otherwise unjustifiably demean, criticize or disparage others.

PRINCIPLE 6: CLIENT RIGHTS

Members shall protect the interests of their clients and clients’ rights to confidentiality. Members shall ensure that records of research will be held for the appropriate periods and that these will be protected from theft, misuse and inadvertent destruction.

PRINCIPLE 7: LAWFULNESS

Members, in their conduct of research, shall abide by the prevailing provincial, national and international legislation which applies to the research they conduct.

PRINCIPLE 8: COMPETENCY

Members agree to uphold high standards of general competency in the design, execution, analysis, reporting, interpretation and consulting phases of all research.

PRINCIPLE 9: FAMILIARITY

Members will undertake to keep themselves, their co-workers and clients informed about the code of conduct to avoid breaches of it, and will undertake also to inform themselves of any recent changes made by assessing, where necessary, such sources as the PMRS website or other material.

PRINCIPLE 10: PROFESSIONALISM

Members commit themselves to the goal of seeking to continuously improve themselves in their chosen profession.

Our Data Retention and Privacy Policies

DataPath Systems Privacy and Data Retention Policies Updated: May 2018 for new GDPR regulations

Data Retention

• For privacy best practices, upon completion of a project, data with personal information should be deleted. Project data will be removed from our systems 2 years after the project close date.

• DataPath Systems reserves the right to change this data retention policy as required to ensure compliance with any applicable laws, industry membership requirements or other valid business process reasons. Changes to this policy will be communicated to our members and clients to ensure adequate notice.

Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy sets out a summary of the principles and procedures that DataPath follows to meet our privacy commitments and comply with the requirements of the laws and regulations under applicable privacy laws in Canada and other jurisdictions, including the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act and the General Data Protection Act (GDPR).

Personal Information is any information that can directly identify you. This information may include, but is not limited to, your name, mailing address, phone numbers, email address, identification numbers. Personal Information, however, generally does not include your name, business title, business address or business telephone number in your capacity as an employee of an organization.

A. The owners of DataPath Systems are responsible for securely storing your personal information. That information is not shared or sold to any third party without your specific consent. Other personnel of DataPath Systems may have responsibility for the day-to-day collection of information (such as interviewers).

B. We will identify the purpose for which the data is being collected. Typically, this is for the purpose of quantitative or qualitative market research or the sending of incentive/prize rewards.

C. By participating in our surveys, we assume your implied consent. However, you will, in most cases, have the option to exclude any personal information asked for. When sending third party surveys, it is up to that third party and their policy for protection of that information.

D. Panel email information. Your email address is considered Personal Information. You have the right to have us remove your email from our files at any time.

E. We will disclose your Personal Information only when we have your consent or as permitted by law

F. We only collect Personal Information with your consent and for purposes identified in advance and only for when deemed necessary for the project.

Our Pledge to Canadians

CRIC Pledge to Canadians

Your voice counts! By participating in marketing, social and public opinion research, your opinions help influence the things that matter most to you. This includes government policies and programs and the development of products and services that better meet your needs. We recognize that your continued participation and willingness to share your opinions is based on trust and respect. When you participate in research offered by our firm or any company that is a member of the Canadian Research Insights Council (CRIC), you can expect that:

1. Your personal information and identity will be kept confidential.

2. You will never be sold anything or asked for money.

3. You will never be pressured or influenced on how to answer any questions.

4. Your decision to not participate or to discontinue your participation will be respected.

5. You will be provided with details of any compensation offered for your participation if applicable.

6. You can verify that research you are invited to participate in is legitimate using CRIC’s Research Verification Service. A CRIC Research Verification Service code will either be provided in the invitation or upon request.

7. You will be informed of the name of the research company and the purpose of the research.

8. You will be given the approximate time required to participate in the research.

9. You will be informed in advance if the interview will be recorded or if additional information such as your location will be collected and of the purpose for collecting that information.

10. You will be contacted at reasonable times and, where possible, you will be offered to be re-contacted at a time that is more convenient.

We welcome your feedback on our research. Feedback on any CRIC member company can be provided through the CRIC Research Verification Service.

https://www.canadianresearchinsightscouncil.ca/rvs