Greenwald & Associates Privacy & Confidentiality Policy
Mathew Greenwald & Associates is committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality rights of respondents, research subjects, and client organizations. In order to implement this commitment, we adhere to the following guidelines:
Privacy of Research Participants
Mathew Greenwald & Associates takes all reasonable precautions to ensure that the privacy of our research participants is respected and protected, and to ensure that participants and those closely associated with them will in no way be adversely affected or embarrassed as a direct result of having participated in a research study.
- Participation in the research studies we conduct is strictly voluntary. Participants have the right to decline participation, and the right to withdraw from the research at any time.
- Mathew Greenwald & Associates will not contact for participation in research studies any individual who has been identified to us as having asked not to be contacted.
- Information collected from individuals or organizations in the course of our studies is used for research purposes only. Follow-up contact with those who have participated in the studies will not be made without the express permission of the participant, except in the case of standard research practices such as interview verification by supervisors. In such a case, research participants will be notified that a follow-up verification may occur.
- All research studies conducted by Mathew Greenwald & Associates are conducted on a strictly confidential basis. Personally identifying information about research participants (such as name, address, and telephone number) is kept separate from individual research results. Information collected from individuals or organizations in the course of our studies is never released outside of the organization in a format that will allow the linking of specific individuals or specific organizations to specific responses. Research results are reported only as group aggregated descriptions, or as anonymous findings from individuals.
- When personal information (such as name, address, and telephone number) is released to a subcontractor in the course of conducting a research study, it is released only to organizations that conform to our standards for privacy protection.
- The names of those who have participated in a research project may be released to clients only if they are separated from the research results, and only in cases where the client originally provided the list of names. These names are released only when they are to be used for the purpose of tracking customer participation and protecting customers from being approached too often for research studies. An exception to this policy is made when a research participant initiates a request that his or her name be forwarded to the client (e.g., to be contacted about an unresolved problem with the company).
- Interviews are not audio taped or videotaped without the express permission of the research participant.
- Research information is not collected from children under the age of 13 without the express consent of a parent or guardian.
- Records of personal information (such as name, address, and telephone number) are destroyed or returned to the originator upon completion of the research study.
Commitment to Our Clients' Confidentiality
Mathew Greenwald & Associates takes all reasonable precautions to protect the security and confidentiality of client information used or learned in the course of conducting research.
- All materials obtained from clients in conjunction with our research studies are kept secure from outside release while in our possession, and are either returned or destroyed at the conclusion of the research.
- Materials obtained from a client in conjunction with a research study, including customer lists, are not used for other research studies without the express permission of the client.
- Information learned in the course of conducting a research study becomes the sole property of the client unless otherwise agreed to in advance. Research findings and all other client information are treated as confidential and are not released to outside parties without the express permission of the client.
In keeping with our standards for excellence in conducting research, Mathew Greenwald & Associates follows the Code of Standards and Ethics developed by the Council of American Survey Research Organizations, and we abide by the Marketing Research Association's Code of Data Collection Standards.