Informed consent
A signed authorization, given before the session, in which the participant accepts what is recorded, what for and for how long; in Chile, under Law 21.719.
Why does it matter for a brand?
A focus group records the voices and faces of real people. Without clear consent, the brand risks using material it cannot show, and participants do not know what will happen to what they said. Good consent also sets time limits: how long the data is kept and what it is used for.
How does WAV handle it?
Every participant signs consent under Law 21.719 before the session. Deliverables show profiles, not names, and contact details are kept for twelve months, the consent period, and then deleted. The web report sits behind a private link that search engines do not list. More in privacy.
What should you ask before a study?
- What exactly does each participant authorize: audio, video, internal or external use?
- How long is the data kept, and who deletes it?
- Do the deliverables show names or profiles?
This term is part of the qualitative research glossary, which defines the fifteen terms that come up in any study; it is most closely related to incentive, recruitment screener and findings report. To see it applied, browse the sample report, built from a fictional study: it is the same format a client receives.