Why do they do it?

Editor’s note: Janet Westergaard is president of Esearch.com Inc., a Rolling Hills, Calif., research firm.

Since we’re all in the marketing research business, and respondent participation is the key to success, our firm thought it would be interesting to find out what respondents think of online research generally. Of course the respondents we contacted are all members of online research panels, so the response is biased in that respect. But most survey research done online uses panels, so these are the very people providing input for the surveys being fielded.

The basics of the research are as follows:

  • 629 panel members responded. Ninety percent were a random sampling among Esearch.com panel members; and 10 percent were self-selected on the Web site.
  • Forty-seven percent of the respondents were male, 53 percent female.
  • Ages ranged from 13 to 65+.

Here’s what we found. In response to the question “What is your general opinion of online panel companies?” and using a 1-5 scale (1 - they are great; 2 - they are okay; 3 - neutral; 4 - they could do better; 5 - they are no good) most respondents indicated they think favorably of online panel companies. Seventy-nine percent say the companies are okay-to-great; 9 percent think they could do better. This high opinion holds across age and gender with no significant difference in any group. While the respondents feel favorably toward online panel companies generally, 94 percent feel there is a significant difference in these companies (6 percent think all panel companies are the same). And while they feel there is a significant difference, only 45 percent have a favorite company - 56 percent don’t. Specific respondent comments include:

“Some of the online survey panel companies seem to value their members more than others.”

“I think it’s interesting what companies want to find out. Sometimes the surveys are well written, and sometimes they could be better. They don’t reward very well, but I enjoy doing them anyhow.”

“I love the fact that my opinions are worth something and that they make a difference.”

“I really enjoy being a part of online survey companies. It allows me to express my opinion and at the same time make a little extra income.”

We asked the respondents if they had ever contacted an online panel company with a question or problem on a particular survey. About half (47 percent) had. The very good news is that 93 percent of these who had contacted a panel company got a response; 7 percent didn’t. It looks like panel companies on the whole are doing a good job in communicating with respondents.

Two years or more

The panel members responding seem to be more Internet-savvy. The majority of respondents have been taking online surveys for two years or more: 78 percent of respondents reported to have started taking online surveys several years ago; 14 percent reported being new to online survey-taking, having started within the past six months. Younger respondents are reporting to be newer to online surveying, which isn’t surprising since a lot of research focuses on respondents 18 and older, and the younger generations use the Internet as more of a social networking tool. Fifty-nine percent of the under 25-year-olds, and 37 percent of the 25-34-year-olds started taking online surveys within the past six months. Fifty-seven percent of those 35-49 and 72 percent of those 50-65 have been taking online surveys for three or more years. The study findings indicate that, the newer the respondent is to online survey-taking, the fewer panels they tend to belong to. The longer the respondent has been doing online research, the more panels they belong to. Of those who have been taking online surveys for three years or more, 76 percent belong to eight or more panels.

Being a member of a panel or panels is the avenue by which most get their survey invitations: 85 percent report to finding surveys via e-mail invitations from the panel companies, which isn’t surprising since the data came from panel participants. Other avenues respondents find surveys are through prompts on Web sites (24 percent), via unsolicited e-mail (17 percent), and “other” venues (5 percent). There is no significant difference across age and gender profiles.

When looking at the response base of online panelists, 38 percent report being a member of two to three online panels. Ten percent hold themselves exclusive to one panel. While 51 percent are members of four or more different panels (31 percent four to seven panels and 20.2 percent eight or more panels).

“Over the years, I have decided which panels waste my time and which don’t. Thus, I have narrowed my panels to three.”

“I think there are some that are out there just to try and scam people and others that are legitimate.”

The number of surveys a person receives each day is directly related to the number of panels they belong to. People belonging to only one panel get fewer than one survey a day. Those belonging to four to seven panels are reporting to receive one to five surveys each day. Interestingly, the fewer surveys received, the greater likelihood of responding. People receiving less than one survey a day report actually taking one survey a week. People receiving one to five surveys per day report taking five to 10 per week - they seem to be more selective. Yet they are the ones belonging to multiple panels and looking for multiple surveys.

For the money

Why do people take online surveys? Most do it for the money (or chance of money): 54 percent reported this as the main incentive for taking surveys. Next, 33 percent reported their reason as the desire to give an opinion on important topics. Others reported a strong like to taking surveys (8 percent) as their main incentive, while a few (4 percent) have a lot of extra time on their hands. Extra time is more prevalent with those under age 25 and over age 65.

Men are more concerned with the money than women. Similarly, the younger the respondent, the more they are looking for the payout. More of them are motivated by the cash while the older crowd likes giving an opinion (49 percent of those under 25 vs. 69 percent of those 65+ do surveys for the undiluted reason of giving an opinion). More women say their love of taking surveys is the main motivator behind doing them.

Those people belonging to multiple panels seem to be doing it more for the potential payout as well: 88 percent of panelists belonging to eight or more panels do surveys for the money. Only 64 percent of those belonging to one panel feel the same.

“I am really happy to offer my opinions online since I am normally very quiet and do not verbalize my opinions very often.”

“There are several surveys that I really enjoy taking more than others ... In general, I like surveys that are really looking for an honest opinion from me. Some of the multiple choice surveys don’t really have an answer listed that I feel actually represents my feelings or concerns about the products or services that they’re presenting.”

The best incentive to offer for surveys is cash: 91 percent of respondents reported this as best. Gift cards and certificates won 52 percent of the vote. Points and raffles are not as desired (31 percent and 29 percent respectively). A point to note however, is that the younger respondents, while preferring cash, report also to be motivated by raffles: 43 percent said they liked raffles with large cash prizes paid to a few respondents. No other age group felt the same.

“They could do away with the drawings for cash prizes and just give cash to everyone. I don’t believe the cash is ever won. They don’t post any winners.”

“I believe that the most legitimate survey companies pay a little cash, or points in exchange for quality merchandise, for a person’s time and thoughtful input. I do not like it when you have to take 50-100 surveys to accrue enough points for anything. I usually avoid those.”

Respondents definitely have an opinion on how long the interviews should be. The majority put the range at 11-15 minutes. This is consistent across gender, but not age. The younger the respondent, the shorter they prefer the interviews. Those under 25 thought the best range was five to 10 minutes. The older the respondents, the more tolerant they are on time, but still the majority stated an 11-15-minute survey as optimal.

Only 17 percent (across the board on age and gender) felt the length of interview didn’t matter as long as the compensation reflected the time. Very few in any age felt interviews are okay at 20 minutes or more (only 2 percent).

We asked, “Have you ever received an invitation to the same survey from multiple panel sources?” Thirty-four percent said yes, they had; 65 percent had not.

Then we asked, “If you have received the same survey from multiple panels, what did you do?” Forty-five percent said they took it more than once; 51 percent said they deleted one of the invitations.

The online research industry as a whole is implementing controls on panel respondents tracking through IP addresses, cookies and system configurations, and this seems to be very prudent given the responses above.

We further asked, “Do you think the data collected through an online survey is valid? Do people tell the truth on the surveys?” Seventy-two percent thought people were truthful while 25 percent didn’t know. Three percent felt it wasn’t valid (no respondents in the 25-34 or 65+ age range felt the research wasn’t valid).

Are favorable

People belonging to online panels are favorable towards survey research. Many seek out opportunities to belong to panels with the majority belonging to more than one. Researchers should keep in mind that panelists fatigue might be setting in with interviews over 15 minutes, with the optimum length (in the eyes of respondents) being 11-15 minutes. As far as rewards, cash is king, with most all respondents stating this as their most preferred incentive. Generally speaking, panel members like very much being offered the opportunity to state their opinions and these people have positive opinions of online panel companies. The responses indicate that as whole, panel providers are doing a good job maintaining and communicating with their members.