Research-Live today reports that there is a new collaboration in the UK between advertisers, marketers, and market researchers to draw up a code of conduct for marketing to children - a response to the Government threatening a 'crackdown' on irresponsible activities.
However, I believe that the new plans and the new MRS proposed code of conduct do not go far enough. Here is a copy of the comments I have added to the Research-Live article.
"Speaking as a parent I find the proposed/draft MRS code much too soft, too much in favour of clients and too little in favour of families or specifically children.
Amongst my beefs are:
a) it permits research in school. This is not why we send our children to school. The rules say parental permission 'may' be asked, but teacher or head is allowed. No way! (I am happy for some social research to be conducted in schools, but not commercial research).
b) it allows a researcher who discovers a child in harm (for example being molested) to report it under some circumstances. No way! It should be a duty to ensure that either the police or social services are alerted, not an option that the researcher may choose if they wish.
c) I believe that any research that facilitates the marketing of products at children should be ruled by the code as unethical. Do we really want MR to be associated with trying to get children to eat more junk, drink more junk, or to pester parents into buying things that might not be affordable?
Let us hope that it will not be too much longer before the government bans the marketing of products at children altogether, but until then we should recognise that helping this kind of marketing is not ethical. I think we need to think like parents, not like businesspeople on this occasion."
What do you think?
This is a real ethical issue. Consider reading this relevant post --> http://bit.ly/cLy1bf
Posted by: Bjkidder | October 11, 2010 at 03:43 PM
Besides all the points you have made so crystal clear, i think form a RMX or business point of view one should not forget the following: children are highly susceptible for suggestive questioning. i believe that even if we had the chutzpah to conduct research with children, we might end up with data that is not as reliable as we hoped for. As no decent researcher should risk his/her clients money on a less than sound data basis, we should all refrain from this target group!
just my 2 cents,
philipp
Posted by: Ppuls | October 03, 2010 at 08:59 PM