Research Ethics Policies

PRIVACY:

• We will not disclose the personal information of people we interview unless we have their permission.  We are careful to protect and honor the privacy of people who help us with our research projects.
• We will not disclose, to people who are being interviewed by us, the name of the organization that will utilize the study in progress, unless our research client has authorized us to do so.

CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION AND CONFLICTS OF INTEREST:

• We will not disclose confidential Client information to third-parties unless they are contractors to the project, and then only on a need-to-know basis.
• We are happy to enter into a Non-Disclosure or Confidentiality Agreement on terms acceptable to both the Client and Plunkett Research.  We have standard NDA forms available upon request.

CODUCT AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS:

• Our researchers will always conduct themselves in a courteous, legal, ethical and professional manner.
• During the conduct of a research project, we will not make false or inaccurate statements to third parties, conduct fraudulent activities or otherwise act in an unethical manner.
• We will not enter into a research assignment that would create a conflict of interest with other, active research Clients.
• We will not ask or encourage anyone to break their confidentiality agreements with other firms or organizations; we will not request documents or information known to be confidential.
• We will not attempt to get a third party to do or say something they would not ordinarily do or say.  We will not engage in anything that could be construed as entrapment.
• We will not make an audio or video recording of a conversation unless the party(ies) being recorded have a) been notified that they are being recorded, or b) have been notified by their employer that they are subject to being recorded for a particular purpose without further notice.
• We will not impersonate another party or misrepresent ourselves when conducting research.
• We will not attempt to uncover “trade secrets.”
• We will not speak directly with a Client’s competitors about pricing or pricing policy, although we may utilize other, ethical means to seek pricing data.
• We will not commit trespass during the conduct of research.
• If we are asked to observe and report on the actions and practices of a Client’s employees (such as engaging in a conversation with Client’s personnel), those employees must have been notified in advance by the Client that their actions are subject to this type of research activity.

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