Taking data seriously
21 March 2012

2012 will be the year that MRS steps up and takes a lead in the data debate. We are already known as an effective and fair regulator in the research sector and this gives us the strong platform from which to lead the charge for more ethical use of data in the UK and hopefully worldwide.

This was a core theme in my welcome speech at the MRS Annual Conference this morning, and it’s something I’m passionate about.

Why?  Relevance must be the watchword for MRS and there is little that is as relevant to research, and to business and policy-makers, as ethical data use.  We have a duty to protect not just consumers, the vulnerable and the wider public, but also to safeguard the reputations of those that hold and use data by ensuring the quality of the data they use.

We need to think big.  We’re not just going to focus on the specifics of online surveys, scraping and other practices where people quite rightly have some pretty major concerns.  These are important but our focus will be on much wider issues – protecting the public from data abuse and making sure that the evidence on which organisations base their decisions is accurate and has been obtained in the right (ethical) way.  How can people trust the data the research sector provides if they are concerned about how data is gathered, held and then used?

Nobody wants restrictive regulation imposed from the top and yet that is a possibility.  All collectors and users of data need to appreciate the risk and realise it is important to us all.

Data is such a critical and relevant an issue for MRS, we must find out voice on it and make it heard.  So expect to hear me talking about this, making the MRS case for better, fairer, more ethical gathering and use of research data.  This morning’s conference speech is just the start.