EFS Panel supports with its functions the main key factors for panel quality
EFS Panel, Globalpark’s Panel software, helps safeguard panel quality through software-aided support of four key factors: the quality of panelist master data and how up-to-date it is, regular panelist communication via several channels, maintaining survey participation rates through efficient incentives, and rating panelist behavior.
Globalpark EFS Panel
Web-based software for managing online panels and deploying panel surveys
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Quality of panelist master data and how up-to-date it is
The quality of a panel is influenced in the long term by how up-to-date the panelist information is. The participants’ demographic data is needed as the basis for the surveys’ sampling procedure. Any number of master data features can be recorded for each member. Single or combined features can be used to create random sampling procedures for forthcoming panel surveys.
The participant administration function of EFS Panel records exactly if, when, and how often a panelist has already filled out his master data survey. Panelist groups can be selected according to how up-to-date their data is and invited to take part in another master data survey. In this way, the panelist data is always kept up-to-date.
These updates ensure that panelists are only invited to participate in relevant surveys and that the panel operator receives meaningful results.
Regular panelist communication
The type and frequency of communication between the panel operator and the panelists has a major impact on a panel`s quality. It is only by keeping members informed of what the panel has to offer that they will be willing to participate in announced surveys. For this reason, EFS Panel has a range of communication tools for addressing specific target groups. The software can be used to manage multi-lingual online panels and surveys.
The panel members can also be grouped into “subpanels”. Different panel websites can be set up for these subpanels, making it easier to address specific target groups individually in the long term.
The participant administration function of EFS Panel can be used to communicate with individual panelists via several channels.
Panel websites, individual user sites for each panelist, and e-mail distribution can be used to send invitations and reminders and to handle any other types of user communication. Moreover, if the panel operator has access to the panelist`s cell phone number, text messages and MMS messages can be generated by the system to invite panelists to participate in surveys.
Efficient incentives
Another key indicator of the quality of a panel is the participation rate for the surveys completed by the panel. In addition to the field time required for surveys and the time needed to answer the questionnaire, this rate is affected above all by the value and quality of the incentives on offer. Well-maintained online panels can record participation rates of more than 60%. This is why there is a close relationship between the incentives and participant data in EFS Panel.
It is managed via a bonus point system, which offers a number of configuration options. Incentives can be defined according to the type, scope and complexity of a survey, varied by participant group, or linked to a special promotion, such as membership campaigns. The system allocates the bonus points automatically.
Participation behavior of panelists
In classic panel research, the “panel effect” is understood to be the change in response behavior caused by repeated participation in surveys, which can have uncontrollable effect on survey results. To safeguard the panel quality, EFS Panel has an evaluation system for recording panelists` participation behavior. It records a variety of information on every participant during each survey, which can be analyzed in the software`s administration interface.
In this way, EFS Panel continuously controls and monitors the panel quality, for example by recording whether panelists take part in surveys, whether they complete the questionnaires, and how long they take to answer.
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