Regulating our sector – the MRS Code of Conduct
22 March 2018

Visible commitment to best practice together with adherence to the MRS Code of Conduct and regulatory framework by MRS members and accredited Company Partners assists in protecting the reputation and integrity of the research profession. As the foundation to good market and social research, MRS members must ensure that they continue to adhere to this robust ethical and legal framework. 

Ongoing investigations into the activities of Cambridge Analytica and Facebook have suggested that Facebook users’ personal data on the social media platform was potentially misused in breach of UK data protection law.

Facebook and Cambridge Analytica’s actions, if confirmed, would likely breach the fundamental principles of the MRS Code of Conduct and several provisions of data protection law, including requirements to process personal data fairly and in a transparent manner and to only process personal data for specified lawful purposes.

The ethical use of data is the foundation of good market and social research. MRS members and accredited companies abide by data protection legislation and the MRS Code of Conduct to ensure consumers and citizens are protected and quality standards are maintained.  This means that as a sector we adhere to a stringent set of professional and ethical standards which enables us to help protect providers, buyers and participants of market and social research.  

The MRS Code of Conduct goes further than current legislation as it covers the ethical use of data. This means that MRS members are held to a higher level of accountability than other users of data. 

Fair Data mark

Additional assurances are provided by those who adhere to the MRS Fair Data mark. Launched in 2013, Fair Data is an accreditation to show which organisations collect, process and manage their customers' personal data fairly. A Fair Data company must meet the 10 Fair Data principles. For consumers and citizens, it provides a trust mark to enable them to recognise an organisation that is ethical and transparent about how they will handle their data.

For further information or any queries on the MRS Code of Conduct or data protection legislation contact the Standards Department on codeline@mrs.org.uk

Fair Data website

Find out more about the Fair Data trust mark and what it could mean for your company.

Go to the Fair Data website