Abstract:

This set of three Guidelines deals with issues that need to be considered when commissioning a marketing research project. Such projects may be carried out by a variety of organizations ranging from individual researchers or consultants to large multi-national companies offering a wide range of services. Throughout these Guidelines, the term agency is used to cover all such possibilities. The main objective of these Guidelines on commissioning research is to assist both client and researcher by reminding them of the various issues involved in specifying and agreeing on a research project. In this way, they seek to reduce the risks of error, omission or misunderstanding and to help to improve the general quality of research projects. They cover a wide range of items and are designed as a guide or aide-memoire to help the parties involved without imposing specific obligations upon them. The need for this publication is probably most acute among inexperienced users of research, but even the most experienced clients and suppliers can benefit from a checklist approach. This is especially the case with international projects, where mistakes and misunderstandings can easily occur in setting up a project at a long-range.