Warranty of quality

Each member of the association is committed to a number of methodological and statistical rules, generally accepted as essentials by the profession. Any transgression of these rules affect the collected data, alters the scientific character of the study, and therefore hurt the credibility of the research.

The rigor and the respect of the standards of the AIRMS are essentials on several elements: when defining the objectives and methodology, construction of the questionnaire and the sample, collecting data, calculating response rates, the weighting of the results and report writing.

Warranty of integrity

The respect of these rules is verifiable, the AIRMS requiring its members complete transparency on the implementation of their studies. The client has recourses in cases of doubt or contestation; he may file a complaint with the association who will exercise its adjudicative role. Each year a minimum of two members are subject to audit by an outside speaker that allows to ensure that they still meet the criteria of eligibility for AIRMS.

Criterias for admission of member firms

The firm must be able to assume the entire responsibility of the projects it undertakes on behalf of clients and not only parts of these projects. Moreover, the firm must own and control all means of data collection, including a call center.

At least 75 % of all activities of the firm must be in the marketing and social research field. Research firms owned by advertising agencies are excluded.

Member firms must employ at least six full-time employees dedicated specifically to marketing or social research (excluding interviewers and casual employees).

The firm must have been conducting marketing and social research for a minimum of 24 consecutive months before it can apply for membership.

The firm must demonstrate a high level of professional and ethical practice. The AIRMS board of management may ask for evidence of such practice from applying firms.

When ownership and/or management of several separate firms is held by the same individual(s), AIRMS grants only one membership.

Relations between the client and the member firm

The client must indicate the types of decisions that are likely to be influenced by the research results and for what purposes the results will be used.

The client must give an approximate indication of the budget available for the research project.

The client should only request formal detailed proposals when there is reasonable probability that the project under consideration will actually be commissioned.

If the client issues a call for proposals, the number of bidders will be limited to no more than four companies, and each of the research firms must be informed that they are in a competitive situation and with whom.

The research firm may require that 50 % of the research budget be paid upon approval of the project.

The research plan, as well as the methodology and the questionnaire, are the property of both the client and the research firm once the proposal and the study have been paid for.

Reports provided by a research firm are normally for the internal use of the client company. If a wider circulation of the results of the study, either in whole or in part is intended, the research firm has the right to be informed and to approve the final contents of the information disseminated. The research firm is also entitled to provide to bona fide inquirers, information about study details should the client disseminate study results without prior approval of content by the research firm.

AIRMS disapproves of commercial practices whereby a representative of the client would obtain any direct or indirect financial benefits from a research supplier for awarding this supplier a contract. In such cases, AIRMS and member companies intend to identify and divulge the names of the research firms or the client representatives who engage in these practices or propose such practices.