Some of the ethical issues in marketing research that pertain to the client include protecting the public from misrepresentation. Full and accurate information should be provided to the supplier regarding the true purpose of the research, nature of the problem being addressed, time, cost, and resource constraints. Also, clients should not knowingly disseminate conclusions from a project that are inconsistent with or not warranted by the data. Additionally, they should not solicit specialized research designs or techniques from one supplier and deliver them to another for execution without the approval of the design or technique originator.

Some of the ethical issues in marketing research which pertain to the supplier include adherence to the basic and commonly accepted standards of scientific investigation: research should be conducted in an objective manner free of personal biases and motivations, the accuracy and validity of the procedures or findings should not be misrepresented, details about the procedures and techniques used should be made available to the client upon request, and the confidentiality of the client and the subjects should be maintained.

Some of the ethical issues in marketing research that pertain to the respondent include assurance of anonymity, respondents’ privacy, and the respondents’ right to be informed about the various aspects of the research.