The first thing you should do after registering with a consumer panel is to complete your profile. The more the panel knows about you, and the broader your range of interests, the more survey invitations you will receive. Don't be afraid to express yourself. If your circumstances change after becoming a member of a panel, you can always update your profile. Most research panels will periodically send you email reminders to update your profile. You can also increase the number of survey opportunities by registering with several free, paid survey sites.
Pre-qualification Questions
Typically, the first part of a survey is the pre-qualification stage. This portion of the study will ask questions such as your age, sex, race, and place of residence. Depending on the required demographics of the study, some participants may be disqualified after completing this portion. For example, if the required demographic is Hispanic males, aged 18-25, living in Washington, DC; only participants that meet this criteria will be qualified to continue the survey.
Another type of pre-qualification question may ask you to indicate survey topics that you have participated in within the past month. If you indicate that you have recently participated in a study on a particular topic, you may be disqualified. Possible reasons for disqualification may be: 1. You are registered with more than one survey site, and may have already participated in the study. 2. You may be disqualified because you've participated in a similiar study, which could compromise the results of the study.
Qualification Questions
The next part of a typical study is the qualification stage. This portion of the study narrows down those who pre-qualify to a more targeted group of respondents. Let's say that you've met the demographic criteria of the example mentioned earlier. The next set of questions is to narrow down that demographic to a specific group of people. For example, this study may only target Hispanic males, aged 18-25, living in Washington, DC, that use public transportation. Only the participants within this group will qualify to complete the study.The qualification portion is the most important part of the study for participants. Your answers here will determine if you qualify to complete the entire study.
Typically, the next group of qualification questions are related to the topic of the survey. If you're fortunate enough to reach this portion of the survey, you must pay close attention to how you answer each question. It is at this point in a study that many participants are disqualified from a survey by incorrectly answering the qualification questions. Research organizations strategically develop survey questions to obtain the results of a study from a targeted group of participants. Therefore, you must strategically answers these questions in order to fit into the targeted group of respondents. In the following examples, we will look at some sample survey topics and qualification questions for the different types of surveys that we mentioned earlier.
- Topic: A new alcoholic beverage that will soon be on the market. You may be asked the following qualification question: Have you consumed an alcoholic beverage in the past 12 months? This study is looking for respondents that consume alcohol. If you do not drink, you will be disqualified because you can not give your opinion of an alcoholic beverage. If you answer no; because you only consume alcohol on special occasions, you will disqualify yourself from the study. (Tip: If you only consume alcoholic beverages once or twice a year, you should answer yes.) Answering yes will qualify you to continue with the study.
- Topic: A healthcare service. A qualification question may ask if you would consider using the internet for health related activities. This study is looking for respondents to give opinions of an online healthcare service. If you indicate that you would not use the internet for health related activities, you will be disqualified. Your answer indicates that you have no interest in the topic. (Tip: A willingness to try something different, often qualifies you to complete the study.)
- Topic: A health condition. These are the most difficult surveys for panelist to qualify to complete. One sample question will provide a long list of health conditions, and ask if you have ever suffered from, or been diagnosed with any of the conditions. This study is looking for respondents that suffer from particular health condition(s). You will not qualify for the survey if you do not click on any of the conditions. In addition, you may not qualify if you do not click on the condition(s) related to the study. But, this is out of your control. However, if you do not click on a health condition because you haven't experienced it for a very long time, you may disqualify yourself from the survey. (Tip: Click on as many health conditions as apply to you, even if you have not experienced it in a long time.) Typically, this type of question is worded this way: Have you ever suffered from any of these health conditions.
- Topic: A new DVD release. A qualification question may ask you to indicate the last time you purchased a new DVD. You are given the options of clicking 1 month; 3 month; 6 months; and 12 months. This question is asked to determine if you purchase DVD's on a regular basis. If you click 6 or 12 months, you may be disqualified from the study. This answer indicates that you do not purchase DVD's on a regular basis. Clicking the 1 month or 3 month options will likely qualify you to continue the study. (Tip: When answering questions that give you a range of options to select, it is best to stay within the middle.)
Elimination Questions
Generally, the next group of questions are the elimination questions. Once you've reach this portion of the survey, you can consider yourself a part of the targeted group. But, don't be careless, because it's not over yet. The elimination questions are designed to weed out those who, for one reason or another are not a good fit for the study. The following are examples of elimination questions.
- Topic: A skin care product. An elimination question for this type of study may be: Which of these products would you never consider using? It will give you a list of products and ask you to click the ones that you will not use. If you indicate that you will never use a product, you will be disqualified. Typically, this type of study asks you to compare similar products to determine if you prefer one product over another. (Tip: Flexibility is the most important characteristic of a panelist. You will likely qualify for more surveys if you remember to "never say never.")
- Topic: An upcoming presidential election. You may be asked the following elimination question: Have you made up your mind about which presidential candidate you will vote for? If you indicate that you have decided on a candidate, you may be disqualified. It would serve no purpose for you to continue the survey. This type of study is to determine if you will change your vote after learning more about the candidates. (Tip: Open mindedness will open more doors to survey invitations.)
Generally, once participants have passed this portion of the survey, they are eligible to complete the entire survey. However, there are rare occasions, where you spend 20 minutes or more answering questions, and then are disqualified from a study, or the survey window simply goes blank with no explanation at all. If this happens, it is an indication that the site is a scam. These sites are only out to gather information, without offering incentives, and the information that they have gathered from you will be used to spam your email.
You can not get rich from taking surveys, but you can earn some spending money. Generating income from surveys requires patience. Although, you will start earning money right away, it may be several weeks or even months before you receive it. That's because most survey accounts require that you reach a minimum balance before you can cash out. The key to generating residual income from taking surveys is to regularly complete surveys to build up your account balances. As mentioned earlier, it's a good idea to register with several survey sites. It is also recommended that you open a PayPal account, since many survey sites give you the option of cash transfers into your PayPal account. Once your survey account balances reach the minimum amounts to cash out, you will start receiving checks in the mail, and deposits into your PayPal account on a continuous basis.
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