MRS and Pearson Education announce publishing deal

Date: 7 December 2001

The Market Research Society (MRS) has announced that it has completed a deal with publishing giant Pearson Education to develop a textbook and website for The MRS Advanced Certificate in Market and Social Research Practice. This major contract will open up the qualification to an international audience and provide support to students and their tutors in colleges and universities throughout the UK.

Under the terms of the agreement, Pearson Education will produce a textbook, companion website, and an instructor's manual. The book, website material and the supporting instructor's manual will be written by Yvonne McGivern, an independent researcher and Visiting Lecturer at Trinity College, Dublin. The MRS will provide on-going support, including the provision of a wide cross-section of reviewers from the research community to assess the project.

The MRS is the UK's official awarding body for qualifications in market research and its Advanced Certificate, which recently received UK government accreditation, is widely regarded as a requisite entry-level qualification for those seeking to pursue a career within the market research profession. The qualification is currently only available at a selected number of colleges and universities within the UK, with a distant learning resource pack provided to students from further afield.

The deal with Pearson Education will provide the resources to allow students to study for the qualification worldwide. Not only will this allow far more people to benefit from the course, but it will help to set an international standard in market research practice, an increasing necessity as more market research companies undertake multi-national studies.

Ruth Martin, Director, Professional Development, The MRS, commented, "The deal with Pearson Education is a very important development for The MRS and the market research profession as a whole. Not only will it provide a much-needed textbook to accompany the course, but the website will extend the resources necessary for taking the MRS Advanced Certificate in Market and Social Research Practice to a much wider audience. It also means that students taking the course will be able to continue with their studies if they are sent away on research projects, which they are currently unable to do."

The MRS Advanced Certificate assesses the candidate's knowledge, understanding and basic application of the essential market and social research principles and techniques. It is suitable for both research practitioners looking to develop their careers, and for anyone entering the market research profession from other areas of business. On completion of the course, candidates will sit an examination at one of the many MRS-accredited centres located around the world.

Lynn Brandon, Acquisition Editor for Marketing, Pearson Education, commented, "We are delighted to have signed a deal with The MRS, which is an internationally-recognised organisation, to develop this important qualification worldwide. The MRS Advanced Certificate is highly regarded in the market research profession and we are pleased to have the opportunity to deliver products which will make it more widely accessible."

Instrumental in developing the links between The MRS and the publisher which enabled The MRS to reach this stage was Robin Birn, Managing Director of Strategy Research and Action Ltd and a Fellow of The MRS. Robin concluded, "Pearson Education is the world's leading educational publisher and this is an exciting project for The MRS. This deal will have a widespread impact on the way qualifications for market researchers are developed in the future."

Notes for Editors

The Market Research Society is the world's largest international membership organisation for professional researchers and others involved or interested in market, social or opinion research.

The MRS qualification portfolio includes Foundation and Certificate Qualifications and a Diploma in Market Research. For more information on The MRS' qualifications please contact Terry Logan on 020 7566 1882.

The MRS also runs a comprehensive programme of training courses to benefit market researchers at all stages of their career. For more information on The MRS' training schemes please visit its website at www.mrs.org.uk

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