Abstract:

One concern of research users is the possible 'professionalisation' of respondents. Respondents may participate in more than one access panel because they like filling out questionnaires, collecting rewards, or keeping abreast of the surveys of the (research) competition. In the process they may become very experienced and knowledgeable. This paper addresses whether, when analysing survey data from an Internet access panel, we should check for such variables as source of recruitment, policies regarding rewards, duration of panel membership, panel response rate and number of surveys undertaken.