Unless otherwise specified in the proposal:
- GST will be charged in addition to the fees stated unless the fees above specify that they include GST.
- Unless specified otherwise, Research Solutions’ terms are 50% upon commencement of a project, the balance on completion 30 days net.
- Unless specified, the fees quoted in this proposal will remain fixed for 90 days from the date of this proposal.
- Unless otherwise specified, all research personnel are members of The Research Society.
- All research projects undertaken will comply with applicable law, The Research Society’s Code of Ethical Behaviour and the Privacy Act.
- Research Solutions complies with the International Standard AS ISO 20252 Market, Opinion and Social Research.
- All fieldwork will be undertaken by field teams with the market research industry quality accreditation ISO 20252.
- All interviewers will be briefed in person or by teleconference and written briefing notes will be distributed to each interviewer along with a copy of the questionnaire. All online surveys will have very specific written briefing instructions and be tested.
- All questionnaires will be tested in-house, and new questionnaires will usually be piloted with respondents.
- Where telephone surveys are conducted, any respondent that cannot be contacted in the initial call will receive five call-backs in an attempt to contact them before their number is replaced. The call-backs will not be conducted in the same shift, usually on separate days in the evening for members of the public and during the day for business participants.
- The client is encouraged to participate in the analysis and may wish to identify issues on the questionnaire or in the discussion guide which are of particular importance to them.
- In terms of client service, Research Solutions staff work flexible hours and are happy to provide mobile phone contact details to clients when they are not in the office.
- All Research Solutions staff work under contract with Research Solutions and have signed confidentiality agreements to maintain client’s confidentiality.
- In terms of intellectual property, unless otherwise agreed, any technique or processes used in the analysis of the market research information remain the property of Research Solutions.
- Market research proposals, research design and cost quotations (unless the client has paid for these) remain the property of Research Solutions and must not be disclosed by the client to any third party other than to a consultant working for the client on that project.
- All other research records prepared by the researcher, except for the report and questionnaire, remain the property of Research Solutions.
- Recordings of Focus Groups and in-depth interviews are confidential, and are used for analysis purposes only and must not leave Research Solutions premises
- Where focus groups and/or in-depth interviews are undertaken as part of a research project, they may be taped (video and/or audio) or transcribed by the moderator of such interviews/groups for analysis and reporting purposes. The tapes and/or transcriptions will not be made available to the client unless specifically requested and then ONLY if the material can be adequately de-identified to maintain respondent confidentiality and anonymity.
- Unless otherwise agreed, all documents relating to the research project will be retained for 24 months.
- Due to the nature of the methodology, a validation procedure is not undertaken for either online or self-completion surveys, except panel surveys where the respondent’s identity is verified on joining the panel. For mail and online surveys, we can reasonably assume that people access their own personally addressed mail/email and will complete their own responses rather than having someone else complete the questionnaire for them and therefore, validation is not undertaken.
- Should the scope of works change during the project’s progress, additional costs will be quoted or the job requoted as necessary. All changes of scope will be confirmed in writing.
- Where Research Solutions relies on third party information, Research Solutions does not take responsibility for errors or omissions regarding third-party information relied upon.
- This agreement may be terminated by either party by providing notice in writing stating the reasons for termination. The period of notice for termination of the agreement is 14 days. At the time of termination, if there has been work performed but not yet invoiced, it will be invoiced to the client at the standard hourly rate. Where fieldwork or recruitment has been booked, there may be a cancellation fee levied by the fieldwork company.
