| ZINC Research abides by the Code of Ethics of the Marketing
Research and Intelligence Association of Canada (MRIA: www.mria-arim.com)
as well as the Code of Ethics of the Qualitative Research
Consultants Association (QRCA: www.qrca.org).
In accordance with the Personal Information and Electronics
Documents Act (PIPEDA), ZINC Research has posted the following
privacy policy. Many of these policies have been in effect
since the company's inception, but now are formalized in this
statement.
A complete version of the Privacy Act & other related
documents are available at the federal Privacy Commissioner’s
Web site, www.privcom.gc.ca.
The Act has 10 privacy principles set out. These are:
- Accountability
- Identifying purposes
- Consent
- Limiting collection
- Limiting use, disclosure & retention
- Accuracy
- Safeguards
- Openness
- Individual Access
- Challenging Compliance
Accountability
The privacy officer for ZINC Research is Brian F. Singh.
If you have any questions about this privacy statement, you
can contact the privacy officer by sending an email to info@zincresearch.com
or by mail to Privacy Officer, ZINC Research, Suite 100 –
1443 19 Avenue SW, Calgary, Alberta, T2T 0J1.
Identifying purposes
Most data collection conducted at ZINC Research is onsite
(via PDA) and online. We also conduct telephone surveys and
qualitative research.
ZINC Research does not house any personal information.
ZINC Research does not keep/maintain resume files. Personal
information is never released for non-research purposes to
any client or research partner.
Onsite:
When ZINC Research is conducting its own research, interviewers
inform respondents that they are collecting data strictly
for research purposes. Interviewers will have identification
identifying that they are conducting research on behalf of
ZINC Research.
If ZINC Research has programmed a survey on its PDA platform
for another research supplier, ZINC requires that that supplier
has a privacy policy that is in compliance with all required
requirements and legislation.
ZINC Research provides aggregate data from all surveys to
clients who sponsor that study. Non-aggregated personal information
is only released to other Research partners for research purposes,
such as verification of authenticity or follow-up studies
where permission has been obtained.
Personal information is never released for non-research purposes
to any client or research partner.
Online:
Typically ZINC Research sends out email invitations to respondents
to participate in a survey. In other cases, a "pop-up"
invitation is launched from a relevant website. In either
the invitation or within survey introduction, there is an
advisory passage mentioning that responses are used strictly
for research purposes.
Email invitations clearly identify ZINC Research and/or another
Survey Research partner on whose behalf we are conducting
the online survey research. In all cases, we ensure that any
contact list used has been vetted for privacy concerns. A
reply to the sending address always goes to the individual
responsible for the survey who can further clarify the purpose
of that particular study.
ZINC Research provides aggregate data from all surveys to
clients who sponsor that study. Non-aggregated personal information
is only released to other Research partners for research purposes,
such as verification of authenticity or follow-up studies
where permission has been obtained.
Personal information is never released for non-research purposes
to any client or research partner.
Telephone:
Typically, ZINC Research informs potential respondents that
they have been contacted to participate in a survey. Interviewers
are required in the survey introduction to inform potential
participants that responses are used strictly for research
purposes.
Interviewers clearly identify ZINC Research and/or another
Survey Research partner on whose behalf we are conducting
the online survey research. Interviewees, upon request, are
provided contact information of individual responsible for
the survey who can further clarify the purpose of that particular
study.
ZINC Research provides aggregate data from all surveys to
clients who sponsor that study. Non-aggregated personal information
is only released to other Research partners for research purposes,
such as verification of authenticity or follow-up studies
where permission has been obtained.
Personal information is never released for non-research purposes
to any client or research partner.
Qualitative:
ZINC Research does not collect personal information except
when required for internal business use only in recruiting
for qualitative research purposes and recording of interviews
for research purposes.
Once projects are completed (i.e., proprietary reports have
been submitted) any personal information collected by ZINC
Research, including respondent identities, sign-in sheets,
consent forms and recordings are destroyed.
ZINC Research provides aggregate data from all qualitative
research to clients who sponsor that study. Non-aggregated
personal information is only released to other Research partners
for research purposes, such as verification of authenticity
or follow-up studies where permission has been obtained.
Any audio and/or video tapes provided by ZINC Research to
commissioning marketing professionals for viewing the research
conducted by ZINC Research are later destroyed by ZINC Research
or the marketing professional, as per privacy legislation
requirements.
Consent
Onsite & Quantitative Research:
A respondent's consent in onsite research and telephone interviews
is obtained by asking respondents if they have time to participate
in research study. Their approval to participate is considered
by our interviewers as explicit consent to proceed with the
survey/interview.
A respondent's participation in online research is by nature
voluntary because it is a self-completed survey. By clicking
the link or proceeding past the first page of a popup survey,
implicit consent has been given to conduct the survey.
For all onsite and quantitative research, non-response categories
are usually available for most questions (e.g. refused/don't
know/not applicable/rather not say). Where questions are deemed
critical to a successful completion of a survey and such options
are not available, a respondent can discontinue participation,
thus withdrawing consent, should they not wish to answer.
Qualitative Research:
It is the policy for ZINC Research to obtain consent from
research respondents for taping and viewing of interviews/focus
groups. All respondents and/or their guardians are aware that
marketing professionals are viewing groups either live and/or
by video tape/audio tapes prior to the interviews and interviews
are not conducted if consent is. Permission for and acceptance
of this is obtained from respondents by ZINC Research prior
to conducting interviews.
Limiting collection
The amount and type of personal information collected is
limited to that which is deemed necessary for the purpose
of the study. In almost all cases, personal information is
collected for the purpose of grouping aggregate data, not
for identifying individuals. Any information collected by
ZINC Research is obtained by fair and lawful means.
In rare cases where the purpose is for re-contact, such purposes
will be made clear to the respondent prior to answering the
question and consent to do so will be explicitly obtained.
Online specific concerns:
Most online surveys conducted at ZINC Research have temporary
"session" cookies placed on the users computer to
maintain connectivity to the webserver. These cookies automatically
expire as soon as the user closes their browser session. No
personal information is collected by the session cookies.
The webserver does collect information about the user's "http
environment variables". This is necessary and is done
by all webservers. This contains only relevant hardware and
software information needed by the webserver to do its job.
No personal information is collected in this fashion.
Limiting use, disclosure & retention
ZINC Research makes use of or discloses personal information
only for the reason(s) it was collected and for which we have
obtained consent. Personal information is not used or disclosed
for purposes other than those for which it was collected.
For all research, consent to participate in any of our research
initiaitives was obtained prior to data collection and/or
interview, and this is adhered to. For online data collection,
the consent given by the respondent was obtained at the time
of the survey.
The only exception to this stated policy would be if ZINC
Research were required to disclose information for legal reasons,
for example if issued a subpoena or other court or government
orders.
ZINC Research keeps personal information only as long as
deemed necessary by the sponsor of the research and it is
kept only for the identified purposes. If not provided with
a clear instruction on how long to keep personal information,
we adhere to the standards of The Canadian Association of
Marketing Research Organizations (CAMRO) which requires its
members to retain completed hardcopy questionnaires for 12
months and electronic records for 24 months.
Once personal information is no longer needed for its identified
purposes or for legal requirements, it is destroyed. Paper
records are shredded. Electronic records are erased.
Accuracy
ZINC Research updates personal information only if it is
necessary for the purposes for which it was collected. Due
to the nature of our research conducted, most contacts are
on a one-time basis only, and as such are never modified while
stored at ZINC Research.
For onsite and qualitative research, the accuracy of any
information depends on the respondent giving it.
Should ZINC Research be required to keep personal information
that is to be used on an ongoing basis (which is not the normal
practice of ZINC Research), every reasonable effort will be
made to ensure the accuracy of this data.
Safeguards
Several security measures are in place to safeguard personal
information.
The entire office, including the data storage area, has 24-hour
electronic security monitoring, to limit unauthorized physical
access to the data.
Electronic security is ensured by multi-level firewalls and
a secure password policy to prevent unauthorized access to
personal information stored on the network.
ZINC Research informs all persons granted network access
or physical access to areas containing personal information
about its policies and procedures regarding confidentiality,
security and privacy. The expectation of compliance with these
policies is made clear.
Confidentiality agreements are routinely signed with third
parties engaged in the data collection process (even if not
privy to personal information).
ZINC Research shreds paper documentation containing personal
information in order to prevent unauthorized access at the
time of disposal. Old, unused or defective computer hard drives
containing personal information are destroyed prior to disposal
to prevent data recovery.
Openness
ZINC Research is open about the procedures used to safeguard
& manage personal information. Access to information about
these procedures is available through this Privacy Policy.
Further clarifications can be obtained by contacting the Privacy
Officer.
Individual Access
Upon request, an individual will be informed of the existence,
use and disclosure of any personal information about them
that is currently in the possession or control of ZINC Research.
Individuals can have access to personal information about
themselves after providing proof of identity (to ensure personal
information is never released to the wrong person inadvertently)
and a written request to the Privacy Officer.
We will also honour requests to identify the source of an
individual's email address, in the case of online surveys,
so that the respondent can take steps to ensure their removal
from that list should this be desired.
If for any reason access to personal information is denied,
if for example the information was collected for the purposes
of a legal investigation, a written reply stating the reasons
for refusal will be provided. The individual may then challenge
ZINC Research’s decision.
Challenging Compliance
ZINC Research’s compliance with this Privacy Policy can be
challenged by directing any complaints or questions in writing
to the Privacy Officer.
ZINC Research will investigate all complaints and attempt
to resolve those that it finds are justified and, if necessary,
will amend its policies and procedures to reflect these findings.
If anyone is unsatisfied with ZINC Research's response to
their complaint, they can contact the Federal Privacy Commissioner.
Contact our Privacy
Officer
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