MRS Guidance during the national mourning period
09 September 2022

Following yesterday’s news, MRS has issued a statement paying tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

National Mourning is a period of time for reflection and mourning is very personal and we anticipate individuals, communities and organisations may want to mark Her Majesty’s passing in their own way.

There is however no expectation on the public, business or organisations to observe specific behaviours during the mourning period.  The Cabinet Office has issued guidance which states “…Depending on the nature and location of their business and the tone of planned events, some businesses may wish to consider closing or postponing events, especially on the day of the State Funeral, however this is at the discretion of individual businesses. Public services will continue as usual…”. 

Some UK Government research and data collection and recruitment has been suspended for today and departments will also be considering on-going projects next week; and depending on the nature of their data collection, departments will determine whether they resume or take a longer pause.

MRS has considered its guidance, particularly regarding data collection activities and the MRS Code requirement to protect the reputation and integrity of the profession.  In light of this, MRS recommends that:

• Practitioners review all their research and data collection projects and consider whether the topic and/or research design is appropriate at this time and pause any projects which are deemed no longer suitable.
• Practitioners continue with research and data collection activities if all parties involved in the activity are happy to proceed, including participants, practitioners and clients. 
• For projects which continue, practitioners, particularly those who are in direct contract with participants, are briefed to give consideration to the sensitivities of the national mood.
• Practitioners respect participants wishes if they do not want to take part including those who may have previously consented to be contacted. 
• In the event of postponements or cancellations of projects neither participants nor practitioners (including interviewers) must be adversely affected, and flexibility should be given regarding rescheduling.
• On the day of the State Funeral all data collection, contact and recruitment for research is suspended.

If you have any queries about the MRS Code or this guidance, please contact the MRS Standards Team via the MRS Codeline service (codeline@mrs.org.uk).