Summary
As the role of children in society becomes more prominent, their participation in research seems set to increase. In this paper we review whether we are getting the ethics of children’s research right. We show that, since the late 1980s, children have been treated universally as a special case and that they have been accorded their own special set of human rights (UNCRC), which primarily grants them rights to protection and participation. We go on to argue (with practical examples) that the core MRS research principles of well-being, voluntary informed consent and privacy/confidentiality must be applied to children with particular caution and care. We note that, as research with children grows and as new techniques are developed, we are presented with fresh challenges for keeping children safe and maintaining their trust. We end by presenting the results of a survey that sought children’s views on being research participants in a quite sensitive piece of research. We found that children are highly appreciative of being consulted about their lives in general and being asked about their feelings. However we also found that some children can be uncomfortable with some of the issues raised and can feel compelled to answer the questions. We conclude that, while we have good industry codes, ethics evolves with shifting social, political and cultural patterns, and we need to keep challenging ourselves to maintain best practice.

Summary
As an agency-trained researcher, the two years I spent as Head of Research at a mental health charity opened my eyes to the fact that mental health problems are 'invisible' and widespread, and that people with mental health problems regularly face exclusion. During this time I conducted many research projects among people with mental health problems, usually about mental health-related issues and services, through which I responded to feedback and constantly amended my approach to ensure that I was providing a high-quality and inclusive research environment. My attention was also drawn to the fact that many people with mental health problems are also consumers of mainstream products and services, and therefore form a notable proportion of the population of participants involved with mainstream research projects. In this article I will discuss 'best practice' ways in which mental health problems should be considered when conducting mainstream qualitative research projects, and focus groups in particular.

Summary
This article assesses the challenges of conducting market research among adults in the UK with Autistic Spectrum Conditions. The Department of Health, the government department, was seeking to implement strategies that would help people with ASCs lead full and equal lives. This group of consumers is highly diverse, and can face difficulties covering verbal and non-verbal communication, social interaction, and sensory issues. As such, developing the Adult Autism Strategy required moving beyond traditional research techniques, and developing new ways of listening to audiences. Adopting greater personalisation was one key way of achieving this goal, and is a strategy that could offer considerable benefits to the industry as a whole.

Summary
This paper discusses work undertaken by Ipsos MORI on behalf of NHS Tower Hamlets, which sought to gain an insight into how the uptake of cervical screening services in this area could be improved. This borough had a screening coverage rate of just 72.3%, one of the lowest totals nationally, and a figure that was below the overall target of 80% which, if achieved, can prevent the onset of terminal cervical cancer in 95% of cases. The research process involved incorporating the voices of white British, Somali and Bangladeshi women in Tower Hamlets through a mixture of peer research and ethnography. Adopting such a strategy helped deliver an understanding of the overall complexity of the issues, and to explain how to communicate and interact with this audience to build strategy.

Summary
Marketing to ethnic communities is fraught with problems of understanding the cultural contexts and value systems of others. Within Britain, this is in many ways exacerbated by the prevalence of a multicultural society that spans generations. Second-generation ethnic consumers live in the world of their parents and their community, but often work and socialise in a very different cultural and social context. Inevitably these influences impact upon decision making. In this study we seek to unravel some of the factors that impact upon ethnic decision making, with a particular focus on one group: second-generation Punjabi Indians. We examine research that has sought to identify factors that impact upon their consumption behaviour, in particular acculturation, identity and ethnicity. We then present research findings that reveal some of the key issues that need to be considered in developing a research approach to understanding ethnic communities.

Summary
This presentation describes the approach and findings of a qualitative research study conductedin the United Kingdom on behalf of the Department of Health. In gathering data, the need forresearch agencies to drive innovation in methodology is highlighted and the power of a respondentcentred approach in delivering high-quality information is underlined. In delivering solutions, the effectiveness of respondent co-created interventions is also considered and evaluated.

Summary
This presentation describes the exploratory method that led to understanding women’s erotic associations to fragrance. The results of this research helped to find new marketing insights and vocabulary about erotic emotions and sensations, intended at launching new ranges of perfumes for women.

Summary
This word of mouth campaign was based on building a new website for SENSOA, an organisation that aimed to provide information to young people about sex and relationships. The new 'All About Sex' website aimed to become the main portal for young adults to find out information about all aspects of sex and relationships, and to start a new impetus for SENSOA with this segment. The launch campaign was backed by a viral movie that aimed to be controversial but straightforward, and thus connect with the target audience by communicating in the sort of language they used on a day-to-day basis. The video was embedded on social networking websites such as Facebook and YouTube, with the campaign launch gaining significant amounts of radio, TV and newspaper coverage over the weeks following the release of the video.

Summary
Two-stage sampling has commonly been used in surveys of households and individuals. The standard strategy is first to stratify the frame population, then determine a reasonable number of primary sampling units (PSUs) within each stratum, to choose some of these with probability proportional to size (first stage) and, finally, to draw sampled units randomly within each cluster (second stage). Good determination of PSUs is the key point in this strategy. It is advantageous if the areas are fairly small. For each stage, the selection should be based on probability principles so that correct inclusion probabilities can be calculated for each individual of the target population. This requirement is not easy to satisfy well in standard surveys in developed countries. It is expected that the problems met will be more complex in the developing world, and even harder in countries experiencing conflict. A really challenging example is the Iraq Mortality Survey (IMS), which was conducted in the summer of 2006. This survey is exceptional also in the sense that the main study variables are deaths due to both violent and non-violent causes. Such variables are not used in surveys in developed countries since reasonably good data are available from records of death registers or lists. Such records have not been considered as reliable in Iraq, hence survey methodology was attempted. The results on estimated deaths due to violence were surprisingly high. This aroused lively debate around the world. The paper comments on this debate, while trying to reconstruct country-level estimates using the initial micro data received from the IMS team. A survey methodologist such as this author cannot be happy with these data, hence many doubts are expressed here about the published estimates.

Summary
This paper presents a compelling example of how Durex used research, communication and design, as well as expert opinion, to transform a well established in-house PR vehicle into a critical business tool for brand and portfolio extension. The company identified the need to gain an in-depth understanding of sexual wellbeing - including what people thought about sex, and the role in played in their lives - on a global basis, in order to understand how to augment its current positioning and champion the its cause. It opted for an electronic survey, with some 26,000 participants taking part in 26 countries. The findings have influenced everything from brand strategy development to pack design and NPD, with the results of the survey itself also providing for extremely high levels of PR.