ISO 19731:2017

Overview

ISO 19731:2017 - "Digital analytics and web analyses for purposes of market, opinion and social research - Vocabulary and service requirements" defines terms and service requirements for organizations and professionals conducting digital analytics and web analyses. It provides quality criteria for collecting, analysing and reporting digital data used in market, opinion and social research. The standard covers analytics from desktop, mobile, OTT and IoT devices and applies to work done by service providers, clients commissioning work, or clients doing analyses in‑house.

Key topics and technical requirements

ISO 19731:2017 combines a vocabulary with practical service requirements. Important topics include:

• Terms and definitions for digital analytics concepts (cookies, device ID, digital fingerprint, ad impression, bot, API, dashboard, anonymization).
• Research project management: organization, responsibilities, appointment of a research quality manager, documentation and records control.
• Confidentiality, consent and participant safeguards: privacy protection and ethical requirements for research participants.
• Data collection & validation: methodologies for cookie/tag-based measurement, online metered panels, hybrid tag/panel integration, and social media analytics; validation of collection processes.
• Data processing: cleaning, editing, weighting, sentiment/text analysis and the use of algorithms and machine learning where applicable.
• Device monitoring & security: device monitoring considerations (mobile, OTT, IoT), malware/bot detection and data security measures.
• Reporting, ownership & publication: transparent reporting, dashboards/API access and rules for publication and result ownership.
• Quality assurance: subcontracting/outsourcing controls, competence and training, internal audits, complaints management and project reviews.
• Data retention & protection: retention policies, anonymization techniques and protection of personally identifiable device identifiers.

Applications and who uses it

ISO 19731:2017 is intended for:

• Market research and social research agencies
• Web analytics and digital measurement service providers
• Client organizations commissioning digital analytics projects
• Data protection officers, auditors and quality managers assessing analytics services
• Vendors of metered panels, tag-based measurement, social media analytics tools and dashboards

Practical uses:

• Setting tender/proposal requirements and evaluating vendors
• Establishing internal procedures for digital research projects
• Ensuring transparent, auditable reporting of website, app and social media measurement
• Aligning analytics practice with privacy, consent and data‑quality expectations

Related standards

• ISO 20252 - Market, opinion and social research - vocabulary and service requirements. ISO 19731 is intended to be used in conjunction with ISO 20252 for broader research process requirements.

Keywords: ISO 19731:2017, digital analytics, web analyses, market research, social research, service requirements, cookies, metered panels, social media analytics, data security.