Market research
Sir: Your leading article of March 8 draws the conclusion that the Government has probably not called upon the assistance of interested opinion research companies in compiling the proposed question for the Common Market referendum.
The vast majority of competent market and opinion researchers belong to this professional body — the Market Research Society — and, to the best of our knowledge, your conclusion is correct. Our Code of Conduct forbids members to reveal the identity of their clients (without permission) but they can obviously say who they have not worked for. So far as we can tell, none of our members has been asked by the Government to help with the wording of the referendum. This seems strange to us. Of all people, professional market and opinion researchers have the most expertise, the most interest and the most investment, of time and skills, in the development of correct questions to put to members of the public. 'Correct' in the sense of unbiased and unambiguous questions which do not lead, and yet are easily comprehensible to people from all backgrounds. This Society happily offers its skills to the Government in validating (and, if necessary reformulating) the referendum question. And let me stress I do mean the Society as such, representing the combined skills of all its members, not just the facilities — no matter how expert — of one or other commercial research agency.
Frank Teer Chairman, The Market Research Society, 51 Charles Street, London WI
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