Professional standards

Standards of professional business conduct, largely concerning the effective management of processes, systems and records. The professional standard ISO 9000 is a system for monitoring such standards, while the UK industry-specific Market Research Quality Standards Association (MRQSA) brought together a number of trade and professional bodies to develop minimum standards for market research, which now comprise BS7911.

Professional standards like these are, however, different from the codes of conduct governing professional ethics and responsibilities, especially those regarding ethical treatment of research participants.