Context: The ICC/ESOMAR International Code requires special permissions for interviewing children. These are described in the ESOMAR Online Research Guideline. In the USA researchers must adhere to the requirements of the Children’s Online Privacy Act (COPPA). Further information on legislation and codes of practice can be found in Section 6 of Guideline for Online Research.
➢ Yes, we do conduct online surveys with children and young people, hence we strictly adhere to ESOMAR standards as well as COPPA when conducting studies in the US.
Context: Being certified may require the supplier to perform tasks in a pre-determined manner and document procedures that should be followed.
➢ Our data protection and information security practices are in compliance with ISO 20252 and 27001 code. We are also a proud member of the ESOMAR and hence we comply with the guidelines and code of conduct as applied for Market research companies.
➢ It ensures that all controls and procedures for project execution meet the requirements of these standards.
Context: There are no foolproof methods for protecting audio, video, still images or concept descriptions in online surveys. In today’s social media world, clients should be aware that the combination of technology solutions and respondent confidentiality agreements are “speed bumps” that mitigate but cannot guarantee that a client’s stimuli will not be shared or described in social media.
➢ The type of methodology used for research whether online or offline is decided as per the discussion with the client. Although, we do follow strict measures to ensure that commercially sensitive data is not leaked at any point during the survey. We also, advise our clients to opt for CATI methodology wherever possible since the whole interview process is automated in the CATI, the chances of committing mistakes or unclear compilation of data is almost negligible. The accuracy of data compilation becomes feasible due to automation of the whole interview process and the constant display of the questionnaire on the computer screen. It also enables the person conducting the interview to have a real-time check on the number of interviews conducted including the number of interviews that have been dropped or not conducted.
Context: The sample provider usually stores sensitive and confidential information on panelists and clients in databases. These data need to be properly secured and backed-up, as does any confidential information provided by the client. The sample provider should be able to provide you with the latest date at which their security has been evaluated by a credible third-party
➢ Feedback complies with all applicable data protection laws and regulations. We also require that all panel owners comply with all applicable laws and regulation. We are also a proud member of the ESOMAR and hence we comply with the guidelines and code of conduct as applied for Market research companies
Context: Not complying with local and international privacy laws might mean the sample provider is operating illegally. An example privacy policy is given in the ESOMAR Guideline for Online Research.
➢ Feedback is a proud member of ESOMAR and hence, we follow all the guidelines and code of conduct as defined by them. Respondents taking part in our studies, are informed about the confidentiality of their responses. Whenever there is a new survey, participants have to agree to the privacy policy before participation in the survey.
Context: The opt-in process indicates the respondents’ relationship with the sample source provider. The market generally makes a distinction between single and double opt-in. Double opt-in refers to the process by which a check is made to confirm that the person joining a panel or database wishes to be a member and understands what to expect (in advance of participating in an actual survey for a paying client).
➢ At the time of recruitment, respondents are made aware of the purpose (i.e. to take part in market research). When a panelist or respondent is invited to a survey, they are informed about the confidentiality of their responses and also provided with an opportunity to opt out.
➢ As part of the registration process, for panelists, they are asked to complete key profiling questions, including a confirmation of their consent to join the panel. Upon confirmation, the panelist receives an automated email sent to the email address provided by them, requiring them to double opt-in to the panel. This email has unique link which leads to creation of a user name and password. The link will direct them back to the panelist site.
➢ Double opt-in is also applicable the case of non-panel members recruited through third party data sources or via CATI.
Context: Confirmation of identity can increase quality by decreasing multiple entries, fraudulent panelists etc.
➢ To avoid any sorts of fraudulent practices, we make sure to follow strict quality control procedures at sample source registration through:
1. Removal of duplicates after identification of multiple panel respondents both through email address and also by name. At panel registration, respondents provide their name, surname,address, phone numbers and email address. Using this information we can identify accounts that are quite likely to be duplicates.
2. Email verification
3. Country Geo-IP validation. A respondent connected from an IP outside the surveyed country is not allowed to participate in any study.
4. Removal of mismatching device settings and Geo-IP location.
5. Removal of black listed contacts which includes clients or competitors. 6. We also monitor the history of respondents/participants in context of their inactivity, speeding, straight lined responses and so on. In case of B2B samples as well, we follow similar set of procedures
Context: This type of data per respondent including how the total population is defined and how the sample was selected and drawn, may increase the possibilities for analysis of data quality.
➢ Yes, we maintain data with respect to the participation history of a respondent. We keep a record of all aspects of a respondent, their complete demographic profile, their survey invite history and response history.
➢ We also maintain a tracker on a real time basis which stores all the information regarding the respondents including the recruitment source, panel sign-up date (in case of a panel member), and survey participation, as well as incentive redemption records.
Context: Frequency of survey participation may increase the risk of undesirable conditioning effects or other potential biases.
➢ We do not exhaust our panelists when it comes to a certain research study as we believe that over using the panel members leads to bias in research as well as lack of quality data from a fresher sample.
Context: Over solicitation may have an impact on respondent engagement or on self- selection and non-response bias.
➢ Once a respondent has completed a survey, they do not typically receive any survey from our end for atleast 4-5 days. This is our minimum exclusion period. We also keep in mind other factors such as same topic survey exlusion. However, if a respondent does not reply to an invitation or replies but is disqualified due to some reason, then they are still eligible to receive further invitations from our end at any time. But we also make sure that they cannot take same survey more than one time.
Context: The use of such procedures may increase the reliability and validity of survey data.
➢ Feedback follows strict guidelines with respect to recruitment for market research projects to not compromise on quality outcomes. Most of the times, surveys do not happen the way we expect and hence, we have to make sure that our quality checks are in place to avoid any sorts of errors. We take the following measures to ensure that:
• We make sure only real respondents participate in the study and not the fake survey taker via Geo-IP validation and anonymous proxy detection.
• We also make sure that same panelists/respondents do not participate in the same studies again over a period of time.
• Apart from that, duplicacy with respect to data is removed in the beginning of the study itself including duplicate contact information and email addresses.
• Repondent’s survey patterns and behaviors are analyzed and checked for any sort of speeding, straight lined responses, robotic answers, red herrings etc. We make sure that such respondents are removed from our system.
Context: One should expect a full sample provider debrief report, including gross sample, start rate, participation rate, drop-out rate, the invitation/contact text, a description of the field work process, and so on. Sample providers should be able to list the standard reports and metrics that they make available.
➢ For each project, Feedback provides standard information on: 1. Number of responses 2. Status of responses (i.e. completes, screen outs, quota full and drop outs) 3. Average length of interview and, 4. Incidence rate.
Context: Respondent satisfaction may be an indicator of willingness to take future surveys. Respondent reactions to your survey from self-reported feedback or from an analysis of suspend points might be very valuable to help understand survey results.
➢ We practice multiple approaches to monitor respondent satisfaction. This happens via, Survey Satisfaction: Upon completion of every survey, panelists are invited to give their feedback regarding the survey which can be provided to the client by request. Our panel support team also ensures that all enquiries or complaints from our respondents are promptly answered and solved.
Context: The “size” of any panel or source may not necessarily be an accurate indicator that your specific project can be completed or completed within your desired time frame.
➢We provide our feasibility for a client’s study through the following information:
• Overall sample definition
• Demographics: specific variables and quotas that must be achieved.
• Other qualification criteria
• Incidence level
• Survey Length
•Number of completes required.
•Any over-quotas required, and definition of groups if so.
•Any special stimuli involved (ex. image files, audios, videos).
•Any special tasks to be programmed (ex. conjoint task, card sort).
•Time in field This will help us to decide whether we can complete the study on time and on specs using our own sample sources, or if external sources are required. If there is an issue with respect to feasibility, we inform the client immediately.
Context: The reward or incentive system may impact on the reasons why people participate in a specific project and these effects can cause bias to the sample.
➢All panelists/respondents who take part in our research receive appropriate incentives to value their participation. The incentives vary depending on the country, survey length, and complexity. Panelists/respondents can choose to receive their rewards in cash sent to their bank accounts (such as via PayPal), online shopping opportunities with some well known online merchants (such as via Amazon gift vouchers and gift cards) or donations to a charity.
Context: The type of proposition (and associated rewards) could influence the type of people who agree to take part in specific projects and can therefore influence sample quality. The level of detail given about the project may also influence response.
➢ Surveys are sent to targeted panelists/respondents. They receive an invitation mail with the following information:
•General description of the purpose of the project;
•Survey Description ( including the end date, survey number, survey duration)
•Survey link that provides access to the questionnaire
• Member support email address
•a statement of the confidentiality and anonymity of each respondent’s responses
•Link to the privacy policy
•Opt-out information Respondents are automatically routed to relevant questions according based on their answers.
Context: The usefulness to your project of pre-profiled information will depend on the precise question asked and may also depend on when it was asked. If real time profiling is used, what control do you have over what question is actually asked?
➢ While profiling respondents for sampling in our panels or elsewhere, we ask a few basic demographic questions including their: Name, Gender, Year of Birth, State/Province/Region, Email, Education background, Employment status, Occupation, Sector of activity, Annual household income. Rest of the questions revolve around their Internet usage, hobbies and area of interests. All active panelists are asked to provide us with updated demographic information and this information is updated in our system every six months. Active panelists are also encouraged to update their contact information as necessary on our Panel Member portal.
Context: It may be necessary to try to replicate your project in the future with as many of the parameters as possible set to the same values. How difficult or easy will this be?
➢ We do not employ survey routing systems.
Context: The usefulness to your project of pre-profiled information will depend on the precise question asked and may also depend on when it was asked. If real time profiling is used, what control do you have over what question is actually asked?
➢ While profiling respondents for sampling in our panels or elsewhere, we ask a few basic demographic questions including their: Name, Gender, Year of Birth, State/Province/Region, Email, Education background, Employment status, Occupation, Sector of activity, Annual household income. Rest of the questions revolve around their Internet usage, hobbies and area of interests. All active panelists are asked to provide us with updated demographic information and this information is updated in our system every six months. Active panelists are also encouraged to update their contact information as necessary on our Panel Member portal.
Context: Biases of varying severity may arise from the prioritisation in choices of surveys to present to respondents and the method of allocation.
➢ We do not employ survey routing systems.
Context: A survey router is a software system that allocates willing respondents to surveys for which they are likely to qualify. Respondents will have been directed to the router for different reasons, perhaps after not qualifying for another survey in which they had been directly invited to participate, or maybe as a result of a general invitation from the router itself. There is no consensus at present about whether and how the use of a router affects the responses that individuals give to questions.
➢ No, we do not employ a survey router
Context: The sampling processes (ex. how individuals are selected or allocated from the sample sources?) used are the main factor in sample provision. A systematic approach based on market research fundamentals may increase sample quality.
➢ Our sample selection is based on profiling specifications as confirmed by the client. We then exclude respondents based on frequency of participation, total number of surveys completed in a time period, etc. The panel manager is responsible for selecting and excluding potential respondents based on client requirements and his or her professional judgment on what is required to meet the client’s needs.
Context: Many providers work with third parties. This means that the quality of the sample is also dependent on the quality of sample providers that the buyer did not select. Transparency is essential in this situation. Overlap between different providers can be significant in some cases and de-duplication removes this source of error, and frustration for respondents. Providers who observe process standards like the ISO standards are required to give you this information.
➢ Due to new studies happening every now and then, the market research industry has become very dynamic and adaptive, hence at times we have to rely on third-party online sample providers to complete the studies as per client requirements. We have strict supplier vetting process and there is a database stringently maintained by our team. We only work with suppliers who adhere to quality parameters and ethically manage their database. We make sure that we inform our clients about using a third party provider if this scenario occurs.
Context: This answer might help you to form an opinion about the relevant experience of the sample provider. How long has the sample provider been providing this service and do they have for example a market research, direct marketing or more technological background? Are the samples solely provided for third party research, or does the company also conduct proprietary work using their panels?
➢ Feedback is a market research agency, offering expert data collection services to large research and consulting firms. We take pride of owning distinguished and highly competent team of experts with multilingual communication capabilities. Our determination and enthusiasm to perfectly accomplish the assigned tasks has marked a significant success towards our dynamic growth in the region. Our unmatchable passion, ability to offer customized services has earned us the most valued trust and appreciation of our clients. With offices across UAE, KSA & Egypt we offer a wide range of services that incorporates Quantitative Research, Qualitative Research, Mystery Shopping, Survey Programming, Translation, Survey Audit, Data Processing and Analytics. We have been providing our services to other research and consulting firms since last 21 years. We have a 60 plus seater CATI and a proprietary online panel.
Context: The description of the types of sources a provider uses for delivering an online sample will provide insight into the quality of the sample.
➢ Feedback’s online panel Tawasol is sourced for its online sampling needs and these are people who have agreed to become members of the panel on their own will. We have recruited them via different social media channels with ongoing campaigns. We actively manage the panel with different engagement routes to ensure the high rate of participation.
Context: The variation in data coming from different sources has been well documented. Overlap between different panel providers can be significant in some cases and de- duplication removes this source of error, and frustration for respondents.
➢ Through extensive research, we make sure that our blended samples do not coincide with each other as well as are the representative of the population, on demographics, attitudes, and behaviors. We only resort to secondary sources if we cannot suffice the target sample through our own panel. Feedback has never compromised on quality and hence we make sure our processes and functioning is always top-notch through our:
• Fully automated in-house CATI centre has predictive dialer, live barge-in facility, call recording facility to maintain the transparency and authenticity of the research process.
• In house phone based recruitment to make sure real respondents participate in the research not the fake survey taker/respondent.
• We also make sure that there is no duplicity with respect to the respondent data on our end.
• If at all there is a case of duplicity or any wrong/unauthentic information provided by any respondent, we make sure we discard it on our end before presenting it to the client. Hence, all the respondent information is cross-checked before final delivery
Context: Combining respondents from sources set up primarily for different purposes (like direct marketing for example) may cause undesirable survey effects.
➢ Our proprietary panel and other sample sources are solely for market research purposes.
Context: Ensuring the inclusion of hard-to-reach groups on the internet (like ethnic minority groups, young people, seniors etc.) may increase population coverage and improve the quality of the sample provided.
➢ We are continuously testing new recruitment sources and methods (specialized websites, social networks) to reach niche audiences. If we are not able to reach specific profile groups through our panel, we also utilize samples from telephone recruited third-party verified databases and phone-to-web recruitment. We have a 60 plus seater CATI centre with live barge in and call recording facility and operations team that can conduct in person interviews with groups that may be hard to reach online.
