Why is market research important ?

Market research is an opportunity to give your views on things that may affect you, your family or your business. Manufacturers, retailers, service companies, political parties and government departments can only succeed if they please you, the customer, so they need to find out what you need and want. Your answers can influence a wide range of products, from pension plans to washing powders, and also have a bearing on issues that affect the quality of your life.

Why is it necessary to ask personal questions ?

To make sure that we achieve a cross section of the population we need to ask personal questions, which may include details on occupation or age. This information is given in total confidence and is only asked to ensure that we have a representative sample of the population

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The replies are confidential so why do we sometimes ask for your name and address ?

No one will gain access to your name and address without your express permission. Under the data protection act of 1998, you are within your rights to with hold your personal details if you do not wish to give them.

The Data Protection Act

All information gathered by us is covered by the Data Protection Act 1998 and can only be used for research purposes. We will never give your name to anyone for sales calls or direct mail.

We understand that you may not want to giver your full details but please be aware that as Members of the Market Research Society we strictly abide by their code of conduct. This ensures total anonymity; therefore your name will not be passed onto a third party. We greatly appreciate your views and opinions, which will be collated and presented in a report for research purposes only and will not be associated with you.

Cash Incentives

It is our usual practice within the industry to give participants a cash incentive for their participation. These amounts vary, but the average payment is around £40.00 depending on the length of time we ask you to spare, this may be from a simple 20 minute phone call to a 1-2 hour in depth interview, and as such the incentive would usually be pro-rata. Any cash incentive will be paid to you on the day of the research or, if the case of the study being conducted over the phone, within a week or so.

Will I be of use?

Market Research is based on views and opinions. Not everyone has the same opinion and everyone has different experiences, so YES your opinions are of use. So many of today's consumer options, business strategies and patient therapies are in place and working because of market research.

We just want to hear YOUR views and opinions on a subject on which you have experience.

There are no right or wrong answers, just how you feel about a given subject and what you perceive.

We can assure you: That we are completely independent of any manufacturers or distributor. We may be asked by a manufacturer to undertake research, but our assurance to you is that there is no promotional or sales content in any study or survey we conduct, nor will you receive junk mail or spam as a result of your participation in our market research studies. We are bound by the code of conduct of the Market Research Society (MRS), which means that we respect the anonymity and confidentiality of each and every participant. No association between individual respondents and their views will be made in feedback to clients, and the information collected will only be used in aggregated form.

From time to time commissioning companies ask us to find out peoples views and opinions on their illnesses /drug therapy etc, how they feel about the stigma associated with certain illnesses, to test prototype equipment (just the equipment and not any medication) to see if it performs as the manufacturer and the patient expects it to. We are always looking for people with medical conditions so please register by clicking the 'Patients' link at the top of this page.

We will be very interested to hear from carers of those who have illnesses; this is to enable us to gain an insight into the pit falls and problems they and their patient.s experience. All views are sought to ensure a true and comprehensive picture is built up to enhance future patient care.