Insights Association Updates Code

The Board of Directors of industry body the Insights Association has approved an updated version of its Code of Standards and Ethics for Marketing Research and Data Analytics, to which all members must adhere.

Formed in 2017 through the merger of CASRO and MRA, the Insights Association provides a resource and network for the marketing research and data analytics community, with all proceeds invested in advocacy, education, certification and direct member support. The code is designed to cover all research and insights activities, and reflects changes in practice in a global context, while relying on supplemental guidance from ESOMAR/GRBN, EphMRA and other research and insights organisations and resources. First approved last year, the code is seen as a 'living document', which will be reviewed annually to ensure that it keeps pace with changes in the industry.

This year, the review more fully includes the culture and practices of data analytics/secondary data, integrated or alongside primary research, and it has been updated in the light of GDPR and the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandal. In addition, the update is said to ensure that the code is not partisan toward or against any methodology or data source.

CEO David Almy (pictured) comments: 'Each year we seek to improve our code through a comprehensive review by a team of expert practitioners. Cognizant of the continued transformation of the insights industry and the increasing role of secondary data and analytics, the result is a clearer, tighter and more inclusive standard which better recognizes the increasing role of new methodologies and data sources in the creation of insights'.

Web site: www.insightsassociation.org .