Panel Research Method Types

Panel research refers to the act of using a single, small panel to conduct longitudinal research over time, rather than performing separate research studies using a much larger sample to evaluate the thoughts and feelings of a population. As long as the study uses that single panel, it qualifies as panel research, but this means that there are several different styles of collecting data that you may choose depending on your needs. These include: Filling Out a Diary Using a Machine/Bar Code Reader Online Surveys While there are more than these three methods (for example, phone interviews), these three are the most different, so we'll look at the pros and cons of each method in the next few articles.

Filling out a diary is any method that involves taking regular notes in a book, journal, etc., in a way that tracks what the respondent did or bought over time. There is very little company involvement and most information is self-reported. Pros You can have the user track information weekly, daily, hourly, etc., to get as much information or data as possible.

The respondent can fill it out at their leisure, which is likely more comfortable for them. Diaries may be less expensive than other data collection methods because there is no human involvement. Cons Respondents may put off answering the diary, then fill in the blanks later only to forget important information.

Can be tedious, and respondents may not put much effort towards the end of the project. May be easily lost, depending on diary method. Potentially very easy to forget.

May be difficult to analyze the data depending on how data is collected. The diary method is fairly popular, and some companies even do an online diary that makes the process a bit easier, but overall there are some serious flaws with the method. Forgetting to complete the diary can be one of the biggest issues of all, and even those that complete it may not be as thorough as you hoped.

The diary method may be useful for some research projects, but they're not going to be the best way to collect data for all of them, and there may even be alternate ways to have your panel complete the same information without it being as tedious.