AAPOR Endorses International Standards

By Reg Baker, Standards Chair

The AAPOR Executive Council has voted to endorse two existing codes of survey research practice designed to improve and standardize the conduct of market, opinion and social research around the world.
 
The ISO Standard 20252 – Market, Opinion, and Social Research was developed over a three-year period by representatives of research associations in more than 20 countries, including CASRO, WAPOR and ESOMAR. More than 250 companies and research organizations worldwide have certified to the ISO standard since it was released in 2006.
 
The Council also endorsed the ICC/ESOMAR Code, which was released in 2009. More than 40 research associations worldwide have formally adopted the ICC/ESOMAR Code while five more have endorsed it. Endorsing groups like AAPOR have their own codes that are similar and at least as restrictive as the ICC/ESOMAR standard.

In a prepared statement, the AAPOR Council singled out for praise the requirement in both codes that mandates full disclosure of survey methods. This requirement is “especially compelling for AAPOR given its ongoing efforts to promote disclosure of key information about survey methods via its Transparency Initiative,” the statement read. Read the full endorsement.