Respondent Privacy

Informed Consent:

Privacy related issues are dealt with explicitly at the start of any project. Prior to any agreement to participate, respondents are informed as to the purpose of the study, the type of data being collected, and the duration of the study. They are also told that any information they provide is confidential, and their participation is completely voluntary. If they agree to participate and qualify, the information from the iDiary system may then be used in a methodologically responsible manner with the assurance that all privacy related issues have been appropriately dealt with.

Additional privacy positions:

No output results at the individual level are produced.

For crosstabulations, cell sizes are kept large enough to prevent individual identification.

Respondents have the right to withdraw their participation at any time.

If respondents need reassurance regarding the nature of information they are providing, they are directed to the log files that collect this information.

Although the data belongs to the client, any information identifying respondents is deleted from the file by ViewStats Research.

ViewStats Research does not engage in the sale or transfer of any respondent identification data collected over the course of its research projects.

ViewStats Research does not reuse selected samples.

Client Confidentiality

A client's identity is not revealed publicly without explicit consent. Nor are any results made public without consent. This is done to help maintain strategic advantage for a client among its competitors. Not only do competitors not know specifically the kind of information the client has on their site users, they are not aware the client has undertaken research to obtain this information.

Knowing detailed site behavior about your competition is, of course, of great strategic advantage. You know the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors and can take appropriate actions. As a result you are in a better position to increase the market share of your web site.

All data belong exclusively to the client.