Lightspeed and ORU First to Gain Panel Standard

In Australia, panels from Lightspeed Research and The Online Research Unit (The ORU) are the first to be accredited with the new international standard for online research, QSOAP.

QSOAP (Quality Standard for Online Access Panels) was launched last August by the Association of Market and Social Research Organisations (AMSRO) and the Australian Market and Social Research Society (AMSRS). It is based on ISO 26362 and has been developed to protect the integrity of online research.

Both associations say that the quality standard will not only safeguard the reputation of the industry from poor practice, but will also significantly enhance the professional status of those who work in it.

Accreditation generally applies to a specific online panel within a company, and offers transparency and process as to how surveys are completed. The initiative covers online data collection and online project management and has two levels - QSOAP Standard and QSOAP Best Practice.

The first requires compliance in areas such as quality management, confidentiality and transparency, methods and sources of recruitment, confirmation of identity, panel structure and size, profile data of panels, and various aspects of panel management.

In addition to these areas, the second level also requires further monitoring controls and identifiers of panel size, structure and sampling, as well as QPMR (Qualified Practising Market Researcher) status, and ISO 20252 certification - to date only ORU has achieved this level.

In a statement, AMSRO thanked Lightspeed Research and ORU for their willingness to act as pilot companies, and congratulated them on their achievement.

Other panel providers - including The Leading Edge - with appropriate services are expected to be audited and certified in the coming months.

Web sites: www.amsro.com.au , www.amsrs.com.au , www.lightspeedresearch.com , and www.theoru.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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