Foreword

ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.

The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the different types of ISO document should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).

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This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 225, Market, opinion and social research.

This fourth edition cancels and replaces the third edition ( ISO 20252:2019 ), which has been technically revised, and ISO 19731:2017 whose technical content has been included in this document.

The main changes are as follows:

the document has been reviewed to reflect the increasing use of automated techniques and artificial intelligence (AI) and related technologies, and where appropriate, requirements have been amended for the use of such techniques;
the inclusion of AI and related technologies has significantly changed the requirements for some of the core requirements and annexes (e.g. translation, coding, analysis);
Clause 4 has been reviewed, and where appropriate, the terminology and requirements have been aligned with other International Standards (e.g. ISO/IEC 27001 );
terms and definitions included in Clause 3 have been updated;
Annex A has been split into two annexes, with sampling requirements remaining in Annex A and panel management requirements moving into a new Annex G;
Annex A has been modified to strengthen data quality requirements, some of which have also been mirrored in Annex G;
technical content has been updated to reflect new or modified research practices, and new content has been added to all of the annexes.

Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html.

Introduction

The principal objective of international standardization within the market, opinion and social research (henceforth referred to as “research”) is the facilitation of global and consistent industry standards applicable to different national and regional markets. The intent of this document is to follow a structure to ensure that its implementation leads to continual improvement of research and to harmonize other national standards and industry codes already available.

The increasing use of automated processes and AI and related technologies in market, opinion and social research has been reflected in this document in a technology neutral manner to reflect the fast-changing nature of these techniques. The addition of automation and AI and related technologies has resulted in some significant changes in some parts of the core framework, notably translation and coding.

The research business core framework remains and is documented as Clause 4. Clause 4 has been re-ordered and aligned with other standards (such as ISO/IEC 27001 ) which are complementary to this document. The language used in this document has been aligned with such standards to increase accessibility and familiarity.

Annexes A to G provide the specific framework for various globally recognized research methodologies. The service provider can align its practices to the requirements as stated within each annex in order to attest conformity to the particular research methodology or functions. The annexes have been expanded with the addition of a new Annex G, panel development and life cycle management, the content of which was previously included in Annex A. In addition, Annex A has been strengthened with the addition of new data quality requirements to reflect the increasing challenges in this area.

The intent is to apply the requirements specified in Clause 4 as the mandatory framework for any attestation by a service provider conforming with this document, supported by at least one annex. The structure and scope of this document do not permit any attestation to this document without also meeting the requirements of at least one annex.

Regardless of whether a business undertakes research activities as an in-house or subcontracted function, the service provider is ultimately responsible for ensuring that research activities meet the requirements of this document. Therefore, the scope and boundaries of the applicable disciplines are reflected in the statement of applicability (SoA), including the annexes with management processes in place to ensure the requirements of this document are met.

Any claim of attestation will clearly and unambiguously state which annexes are included within the scope of conformity. The long-term aim is that businesses will attest the majority, if not all, of their research activities to this document.

1 Scope

This document establishes terms, definitions and service requirements for service providers conducting market, opinion and social research, including insights and data analytics.

This document does not apply to non-research activities, such as direct marketing.

2 Normative references

3 Terms and definitions

4 Core requirements for market, opinion and social research, insight and data analytics

4.1 Core framework and legal requirements

4.2 Personnel and infrastructure responsibilities

4.3 Information security

4.4 Subcontracting services

4.5 Planning, delivery and reporting on projects and research work

4.6 Senior management review and improvement

4.7 Internal audits

Bibliography