science

International Consumer Research & Testing

International Consumer Research & Testing is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand International Consumer Research & Testing rather than just read about it. In short: International Consumer Research & Testing (ICRT) is a global consortium of more than 40 consumer organisations dedicated to carrying out joint research and testing in the consumer interest. ICRT's principal objectives are to facilitate co-operation between its members and to promote research and testing in the field of consumer goods and services.

Key takeaways

International Consumer Research & Testing belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect International Consumer Research & Testing to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of International Consumer Research & Testing from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

International Consumer Research & Testing (ICRT) is a global consortium of more than 40 consumer organisations dedicated to carrying out joint research and testing in the consumer interest. ICRT's principal objectives are to facilitate co-operation between its members and to promote research and testing in the field of consumer goods and services.

ICRT Tests ICRT members cooperate in a programme of continuous testing on a wide range of popular consumer products such as digital cameras, mobile phones, television sets, cars, washing machines, dishwashers, vacuum cleaners and light bulbs. In addition, there are numerous other smaller collaborative tests, on a whole range of consumer products from anti-wrinkle creams to athletic shoes. Safety has always been a topic of concern to consumer organisations. ICRT members have played a key role in promoting higher safety standards for consumer goods. ICRT also facilitates information exchange and testing between members in areas such as food, health, the environment and financial services. ICRT members join forces with motor clubs with the aim of testing cars, tyres and infant car seats. ICRT is a key player in European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) and a similar programme in Latin America.

ICRT Members All ICRT member organisations act exclusively in the consumer interest. They do not accept advertising and are independent of commerce, industry and political parties. Werner Brinkmann is the German member of the board of ICRT. ICRT works closely with the two other international campaigning consumer organisations, to which many ICRT members also belong:

BEUC - The European Consumer Organisation CI - Consumers International Member organisations range in size from the largest consumer organisations worldwide with memberships between 200,000 and 7 million to smaller organisations with less than 10,000 members. ICRT's major members are: Which? (United Kingdom), Consumer Reports (United States of America), Stiftung Warentest (Germany), Association des Consommateurs Test Achats (Belgium), Union Fédérale des Consommateurs Que Choisir (France), Consumentenbond (Netherlands). ICRT has member organisations in Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Africa.

Argentina - Consumidores Argentinos Australia - Choice Austria - Verein Fur Konsumenteninformation Belgium - Association des Consommateurs Test-Achats SC Brazil - Pro Teste - Associacao Brasiliera de Defesa do Consumidor Bulgaria - Bulgarian National Consumers Association Canada - Protegez-Vous Chile - The Organisation for the Defence of Consumers and Users in Chile China - Association for Comparative & Objective Testing in Europe for Safety & Trust e.V. Archived 2017-08-18 at the Wayback Machine China - Okoer (no site) China - Mingjian (License) Archived 2018-05-25 at the Wayback Machine China - Shenzhen Consumer Council (no site) Cyprus - Cyprus Consumers' Association Czech Republic - Consumer Organisation dTest Denmark - Taenk/Forbrugerraadet (Danish Consumer Council) Finland - Kuluttajatietoisuuden edistamisyhdistys ry. (Association for advancing consumer awareness) France - Que Choisir (UFC) Germany - Stiftung Warentest Hungary - Teszt es Piac Fogyasztovedelmi Egyesulet Hungary -Association of Conscious Consumers Greenland - Greenlands Forbrugerrad Archived 2011-11-01 at the Wayback Machine China - Hong Kong Consumer Council Iceland - Neytendasamtokin Ireland - Consumer's Association of Ireland Italy - Altroconsumo Edizioni SRL Japan - National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan (Affiliate) Korea - Citizens' Alliance for Consumer Protection of Korea Netherlands - Consumentenbond New Zealand - Consumer New Zealand Norway - Forbrukerradet Peru - Peruvian Association of Consumers and Users Poland - Pro-Test Foundation Portugal - DECO-Proteste Editores LDA National Association for Consumer Protection and Promotion of Programs and Strategies Romania Romania - Romania Association for Consumer Protection Russia - Konfop Archived 2018-05-24 at the Wayback Machine Russia - RusQuality Singapore - Consumers Association of Singapore Slovenia - Zveza Potrosnikov Slovenije South Africa - National Consumer Forum of South Africa Archived 2018-05-26 at the Wayback Machine Spain - Ediciones SA (OCU) Sweden - Rad & Ron Switzerland - Federation Romande des Consommateurs Switzerland - Konsumenteninfo AG Switzerland - Stiftung fur Konsumentenschutz Taiwan - Consumer Foundation of Chinese Taipei Thailand - Foundation for Consumers Ukraine - Test UK - Which? USA - Consumer Reports

History ICRT was formally set up as a not for profit association under United Kingdom law in 1990 but it is based on a long tradition of co-operation between independent consumer organisations since the 1960s:

1968 – The first joint tests between the Dutch and Belgian organisations included hairdryers, dishwashers, stereo receivers and model trains. A test of hotels in Mallorca was also joined by Germany. 1972 – The name European Testing Group (ETG) was adopted. 1974 – By now twelve organisations were attending ETG meetings including those from The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, UK, France, Denmark, Norway, Switzerland and Austria. 1982 – ETG Secretariat moved to London and an increasing number of collaborative tests were carried out each year 1990 – A new organisation – International Consumer Research & Testing was created to formalise the arrangements of the ETG. 1991 – First European Commission (EC)-funded project “Comparative Testing in Europe” completed. This laid the basis for discussion about future ICRT EC-funded comparative testing projects. 1992 – First ICRT Guidelines issued 1996 – ICRT became a founder member of the Euro NCAP crash test programme 1999 – Guido Adriaenssens appointed CEO. ICRT now has 26 members 2002 – Nordic Testing Group formed. 2004 – Consumers Union (USA) joins ICRT, Asia-Pacific Regional Group met for the first time 2007–2010 Capacity building in new EU Member States lead to formation of Central & Eastern Europe Regional Group in 2010 2008 – Worldwide test on breakfast cereals published – joined by 30 partners 2010 – Latin NCAP launched 2011 – launch of Global NCAP 2017 – ICRT has more than 35 member organisations

References

External links International Consumer Research and Testing Ltd

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with International Consumer Research & Testing

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what International Consumer Research & Testing claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to International Consumer Research & Testing before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about International Consumer Research & Testing ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of International Consumer Research & Testing

In research: International Consumer Research & Testing appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses International Consumer Research & Testing in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: International Consumer Research & Testing is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Consumer organisations in the United Kingdom, International organisations based in London, Organisations based in the London Borough of Islington, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for International Consumer Research & Testing outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study International Consumer Research & Testing in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what International Consumer Research & Testing means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain International Consumer Research & Testing out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is International Consumer Research & Testing in simple terms?

Why does International Consumer Research & Testing matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study International Consumer Research & Testing?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on International Consumer Research & Testing.