Does Marketing Research invade a Respondent's Privacy? If yes, please give examples or tell your experiences.

Answer 1

it depends. most reputable companies make sure that the data they gather is masked and totally anonymous, and most market research surveys (whether online or via phone or whatever medium) are opt-in... meaning, if you want to decline to answer, that's totally up to you.

the only places where there might be some questions of privacy being violated would be, for instance, in ACNielsen's scanner data (which tracks items that are scanned at the grocery store, etc.) -- but even that is anonymous.

of course, this is ignoring the fact that there are some less-than-reputable researchers who have no regard for respondents' rights -- but given the incestuous nature of the market research industry, those bad boys should be out of business. just use your head and never give out any information that you're not comfortable divulging.

a market researcher might ask you if you own/use a credit card. they're not going to ask you for a credit card number.

Answer 2

Yes, Mostly When I Want To Be Alone, I Feel Like Knocking The Shxt Outta Them, And Shove It Down Their Throat. =]