„Panels are much more than just access to people who take surveys.“
Panel management encompasses a number of procedures, including authenticating who is in a particular panel, continuing to gather information about them over time, monitoring their behavior and response rates, tracking the number of surveys they participate in, and making sure the panel is only used for research purposes. Managing a panel over sustained time periods also allows high re-contact rates. The ability to reach the same person over time is pertinent to studies that observe changes in behavior, opinions, or attitudes over time, as well as studies specific to product testing.
Just as important as panel management is panel recruitment, which includes methods for sourcing, opting-in, and screening.
Sourcing
At Research now, we offer “By-Invitation-Only,”® “open enrollment,” and “global online communities and publisher” panels so that we can deliver the largest, most representative, and well-balanced sample available. We work to blend these assets optimally based on the needs of a project, with a specific strength in large, census-balanced sampling that generates consistent, high-quality research data. The ability to source different audience types across many sourcing methodologies provides the variety and breadth needed within a first-party asset to collect accurate data, as well as offer census-balanced audiences.
Opt-Ins and Screening
First-party panels, like Research Now’s, have a defined opt-in process for people to join. Opting in can be “single,” in which a person signs up via email, Facebook, or another source and is admitted to the panel; or “double,” meaning the opt-in requires a second verification process that helps further screen the prospective panel member to verify their identity. Once opted-in, recruitment campaigns are designed to target hard-to-reach population segments by selecting unique sources and applying tailored campaigns. To guarantee detailed knowledge of the specificities of panelists, hundreds of profiling attributes are employed within a first-party panel, making low incidence groups more accessible. To facilitate this process, participants within a panel are deeply profiled and pre-screeners are deployed to collect information for niche sample targets, such as finance, IT decision makers, and health ailments. Because first-party panel participants are profiled – unlike that of a river sample or aggregator provider – you can determine who is best qualified for a study without asking a single question. As a result, what might normally be a 20-minute-long survey can be whittled to 10 minutes, a much more digestible format in an era of shortened attention spans.
“Because first-party panel participants are profiled you can determine who is best qualified for a study without asking a single question.”
Since owners of a first-party panel can control the processes in place from start to finish, they can exercise a higher level of control over quality. Unique to Research Now is a comprehensive, integrated system of tools, metrics, procedures, and policies, which we call Total Research Quality ™, that operates throughout the entire lifecycle of each panelist and across every completed project. It validates the accuracy, consistency, and reliability of the date collected, beginning before the data is collected and continuing long after the analysis is completed.
An additional, integral component to panel management is that all national, regional, and local laws with respect to privacy and data protection are followed. As such, the privacy policy for each panel adheres to local law. Panel partners should ensure panels comply with all applicable industry standards set by ESOMAR, MRS (UK), AMSRS (Australia), BVM (Germany), Insights Association, MRIA (Canada), etc.
This is part 3 of a 7-part blog series by Research Now. To check out part 1 and 2, click here for part 1 and here for part 2.
