Feeling insecure about your image?

Editor’s note: Harley Rivet is vice president of sales, and David Bradford is vice president of international sales and marketing, for Itracks Inc., a Saskatoon, Saskatchewan research company.

Online methods of conducting research have greatly extended the reach of projects where presenting stimuli is of key importance. Traditionally, projects that involved visual stimuli (concept tests, product/package design, advertising etc.) often required that respondents be mailed packages or be brought into a focus group facility. Although these options are still very viable, the increasing demand to turn projects around quicker and cheaper is being answered by conducting more and more studies online, where visuals can be easily presented and data gathered relatively quickly from dispersed respondents.

An increasing proportion of online surveys, online focus groups and online bulletin boards are incorporating images, not only as part of the research, but also as a way of making research more engaging to respondents. However, the accessibility the Internet affords researchers to conduct studies with stimuli must also be balanced with the security concerns that presenting images over the Internet brings up.

With today’s technology, digital images can be easily duplicated and distributed in a matter of minutes. This article will discuss some of the key things to be aware of when using images in online research, the security measures that can be taken to protect images, and recommendations regarding the appropriate approach depending on the sensitivity of the material and resources available to the researcher.

Internet security

The Internet is a terrific medium for sharing and accessing information. That said, there is also no surefire way of protecting content displayed on the Internet. But there are measures one can take to deter and inhibit the theft of online content. Sensitive images can be encoded with a watermark that indicates copyright information and can possibly also be tracked in the event they are being distributed without authorization. More elaborate methods may involve hosting images on a secure, password-protected Web server, or, more advanced yet, converting images into an encrypted format that requires a browser component like a plug-in, third-party software download, or Java applet to view the content. The latter are more appropriate when trying to control access to images, but in the case where you are conducting an online survey and want as many respondents’ opinions as possible, the focus shifts to protecting content from duplication and redistribution.

Concerns over presenting confidential topics with today’s technology

Just as researchers can now reach more potential respondents using the Internet, respondents in any study have the ability to share information over the Internet very quickly with greater numbers of people than at any other time in history. Digital technology has created new challenges for researchers who need to present stimuli of a confidential nature in both online and traditional research environments. Online studies present greater potential risks since the respondent is on their own at their computer, and they have a variety of ways available to them to copy materials.

Ways of copying Web-based stimuli (print screen, save as, copying, etc.)

There is no shortage of ways for any respondent to copy materials they are exposed to on the Web. Almost all browsers provide an easy way to copy images with a few clicks of a mouse and those images can then be pasted from the clipboard into a variety of software programs. In most operating systems, all it takes is a couple of quick keystrokes to do the same thing. With most of the world running computers on Windows, the “print screen” button on the keyboard offers yet another way to capture what is on a Web page and then paste it elsewhere. Even if these functions are disabled or not functional, there is nothing that would prevent a determined respondent from taking a photograph of something shown on their computer screen with a video or digital camera and then copying or sharing these images with anyone they want. There are sophisticated software programs that will capture multiple images within an exercise such as an online survey, online qualitative study or a usability test. There are also many software programs available that allow for editing of a stimulus to make it more difficult to trace a purloined image.

Qualitative image presentation and potential exposure risks

Concern over security of materials presented to respondents in qualitative studies is nothing new, according to Pierre Bélisle, an experienced Canadian moderator and analyst of qualitative research. “While unauthorized capture and duplication of digitized works is an issue, the issue of image security has always been around. Clients have always been concerned about revealing proprietary materials such as new product concepts and about focus group participants walking out with study materials, so they have sometimes sought to bind participants with non-disclosure agreements. At the end of the day, I’m not sure how much we should concern ourselves with this beyond reasonable due diligence. If a client’s security concerns are so great that he/she would rather shoot all the participants after the focus group, then perhaps they shouldn’t be doing research at all.”

Online qualitative studies pose somewhat less risk than online quantitative studies due to the smaller numbers of respondents involved and the somewhat greater control over stimuli exposure. Telephone recruiting is also more likely to be used for online qualitative studies and this can provide an additional level of personalized contact and scrutiny. Many online qualitative studies use client-supplied telephone lists of their own customers which allow more opportunities to include signed non-disclosure agreements. This would be much more costly and difficult to manage with many quantitative studies due to the numbers of individuals involved, and may not be possible to do with certain online panel sources. Check with your recruiting source to see if it is possible to get signed non-disclosure agreements as part of the recruiting procedure.

Synchronous online qualitative studies usually involve fewer numbers of people, and most software developed specifically for online qualitative research allows for the moderator to control the stimuli that is presented. The moderator will have control over what the respondent sees in the whiteboard, and if a stimulus is presented in a separate browser window, the moderator can also close it so exposure to stimulus is controlled for the amount of time it is visible. In the synchronous online study, the moderator can also quickly eject any respondent who raises suspicion by their comments or if the client observer has concerns. In most cases, they are communicating with six to eight respondents, so greater attention can be paid to their comments or any suspicious inactivity. The research is also conducted within a shorter time frame, with 90 minutes being fairly standard. It is also possible to combine telephone interviews with online stimuli presentation, achieving greater moderator control over the frequency and length of time for exposure to stimuli.

Asynchronous studies or real-time qual/quant studies will usually involve larger numbers of respondents, so there are increased risks and less control over the length of time for exposure to stimuli, unless additional programming is done. Asynchronous online qualitative studies using a bulletin-board format allow respondents to participate at their own schedule, so additional programming is required to prevent stimuli from being seen multiple times or to limit the exposure time and frequency.

Quantitative image presentation and potential exposure risks

The higher the number of respondents involved, the greater the chances that something could be copied and distributed. “We advise our clients that security on the Web is no better or worse than security in the mail,” says Bernie Klug, senior vice president, interactive operations, at research firm TNS North America. “In both methodologies your stimulus is placed out of your control. There are a number of techniques that can be used to make it difficult for a respondent to ‘steal’ the image. Use of Java applets, password protection for survey access, and confidentiality agreements are good techniques to keep honest respondents honest. Clients must carefully assess the risks of exposing sensitive ideas before proceeding with any form of research.”

Quantitative studies frequently utilize the numerous online panels that are available, so it would be important to include willingness to download any required protection plug-in in your screening criteria. This additional requirement could potentially reduce incidence if there is reluctance to install plug-ins in order to participate in a study.

Software and programming solutions

There are a number of software solutions available for protecting online images from being copied, and some market research companies have even developed their own proprietary technologies. The solutions range in price and complexity, and choosing the appropriate solution for your needs should be in proportion to the value or sensitivity of the content being displayed. Other factors to consider are the technical resources you have available to you, the technical savvy of your respondents to perhaps download a plug-in that prevents them from copying a displayed image, and the accessibility issues that arise from incorporating protection technologies that may not be readily compatible with typical browser settings.

At present, most of the available software solutions require the respondent to download a plug-in that will allow them to view an image while disabling their ability to copy or save it to their computer. These software solutions are continuously making advances to allow for easier implementation and access by respondents. If purchasing a software program to encrypt and host protected images is beyond your budget or technical infrastructure, some online data collection providers may already have solutions they can offer you that will save you the worry.

Since an online data collection provider’s business is programming surveys and/or hosting online focus groups, established firms will likely already have a software package or process for protecting images you wish to display. One of these techniques is allowing an image in an online survey or focus group to only be displayed for a certain amount of time. In the case of an online survey, a timing mechanism is pre-programmed into the application so that an image will disappear after a certain number of seconds. The goal here is to only present images long enough to enable the respondent to answer a question. Another technique involves the proprietary formatting of images into an HTML document that protects them from being copied. Although respondents will still be able to click on a picture and save it to their computer, the image will not be visible when they go to open it. These techniques still do not provide complete security, and in the event your stimuli are very confidential, other measures may need to be taken.

Wetware solutions

When software or technical solutions are not sufficient measures for protecting online images (i.e., they do not protect against respondents taking a picture of their computer screen with a camera), additional options are to involve legally-binding confidentiality agreements that can be enforced if images are copied or leaked, or implementing strict qualification criteria when recruiting respondents for research. Respondents can be sent non-disclosure agreements they must sign before participating in a research project, or the same type of process can be administered online by having respondents check “agree” or “do not agree” to the terms of a research project prior to being given access to a survey or focus group. In the event that the nature of the stimuli is highly confidential, then perhaps foregoing an online approach is the best option.

Recommendations

Image protection and digital rights management is still in its infancy and, therefore, many more advancements are sure to evolve. Jupiter Research predicts that U.S.  companies will increase spending on digital rights management software to $274 million by 2008. There are a number of things to consider and the measures taken should be in proportion to the value and sensitivity of the content being protected. Below is a checklist of things to consider when online image security is of key concern:

1. If appropriate and possible, print a copyright notice in very small type onto the face of the image itself - unless this significantly detracts from the presentation you intend. You may wish to also watermark your images and perhaps embed an invisible copyright statement inside the image data.

2. Name your images something traceable like “ABC.Research_001.jpg” and not simply “image4-01.jpg.” This allows you to go to google.com and do searches based on the file name to see if others are using your image as-is, and/or hosting your content on a Web site.

3. For mid-grade protection you can choose a system or data collection provider that prohibits right-click saving, and/or a system that uses either an applet or plug-in which can also prohibit printing, PDF capture, and other copying methods.

4. At the high end you would use a system which combines many of the above-mentioned procedures and also ties in a non-disclosure agreement that respondents must accept.

Any system that uses a plug-in or Java applet may cause compatibility problems with certain browsers, so it’s important to know your intended audience. Too much protection may make your content unviewable by your actual audience.

One final thought: If you require a 100-percent guarantee that images will not be copied, we would not recommend putting them online. The extra steps that can be taken will help but will not eliminate the possibility that a stimulus can be copied. Any exposure, regardless of whether it takes place face-to-face or online, means that this person or group will now have some knowledge of it and could potentially share it with others.

Sources

Locking Pixels – Making Online Digital Content Secure. Christopher Simmons. www.digitalauthor.com. 2001.

“JupiterResearch Forecasts Spending by U.S. Companies on Enterprise DRM Software Will Grow From $36 Million in 2003 to $274 Million in 2008.” www.jupitermedia.com/corporate/releases/04.07.07-newjupresearch.html. 2004.