Are you a member of panel companies or market research firms? Do you like to share your opinions with the brands and world via surveys and polls? If so, please know that you, as a consumer, have certain rights you must know and execute.

This helps in the smooth running of surveys, protects your personal data, and brings more security and transparency to the whole primary market research process.

Today’s blog post shares some consumer rights in the market research industry.

Why Your Rights Matter in Market Research

When market research firms rope you in for their primary market research program, they collect your personal data apart from the product, brand, or service they’re studying. To keep your personal data safe from the prying eyes of cybercrimes, rampant and irrelevant marketing, data misuse, and third-party data sharing, you need to know your rights in market research.

Not only that, you must exercise your rights and raise a voice when you feel you’ve been treated unfairly or unjustly in any way.

When participants know their rights in primary market research, the collected data also cascades integrity, correctness, and confidentiality to the outcomes and processes.

If you observe any issues, don’t hesitate to express your grievance to market research firms. Here are some of the rights you should execute often.

Know And Understand Your 7 Consumer Rights in Market Research

1.     Consent and Opt-Out Policies

Whether you’re a panel member or participating in a one-off survey, the market research company should seek your consent during each study. Just because you’ve signed up as a panel member, no panel company or market research team can force you to complete every survey they launch.

Feeling uncomfortable in a panel? You can opt out of the panel membership whenever you wish without quoting for any reason.

2.     Data Privacy and Confidentiality

Your data security, privacy, and confidentiality are crucial, not optional. Any data leak can land panelists and survey participants with identity theft, misuse of information, irritant marketing, and cyberbullying.

So, always read the data policies of the panel or market research brand on their website. Ask them if you don’t find the fine lines yourself.

Here is a comprehensive blog series on user data privacy, ethics, and confidentiality.

3.     Voluntary Participation

Know that participating in a survey or any other primary market research method is voluntary, even if you’re being paid for the same. No company or panel can pressure you to fill out the survey. They can request you, though, and you’re free to deny them your data.

You can dump a survey before starting or during the process if you decide not to continue. Exiting from the panel membership is possible, too. However, once you submit your data in research, it can’t be easily erased.

4.     Anonymous Participation

Anonymity has its place and respect in market research, even if panels and brands collect your demographic profile. Your personal data is ideal for segregation and data analysis to calculate quantitative data.

However, a lot of surveys have anonymity options. Even quizzes and polls come with this benefit. So, ask the panel company or the brand for anonymous data collection if you are not keen to share your personal details.

5.     Unfair Treatment

A brand can’t behave biased while or after collecting user data. No one in the panel has the right to treat you unfairly. If you feel you’re being treated badly or observe biasing in a focus group discussion or an interview sounds unjust, raise your concerns.

6.     Survey Results

No, survey results (almost all the time) aren’t highly confidential. Most surveys publish collected data in percentage against various user segments, aka aggregated data. That saves you from getting your personal profile public.

However, due to data security and for some other valid reasons, a company might not publish the survey outcome. You’ve every right to reach out to them to avail the outcome. They might not share all the data due to legal reasons, but they might be able to help you understand what steps they plan to take to improve the product or service.

7.     Survey Transparency

Right from the notification you get for a new survey till the day the panel or the company publishes the outcome, they should be transparent.

The transparency includes the survey context, all the stakeholders involved in the market research, how the company will process, archive, and use your data, and how the results will be consumed.

If you feel the company is not transparent immediately, you can question them.

Looking For A Safe And Righteous Panel Company?

Opinionest, working as a panel company for over 14 years, provides a safe space to its users and panel members. If you’re interested in voicing your opinions via primary market research, register here for free.