Panel Methods Comparison

We're continuing our look at the pros and cons of various styles of panel research. Right now, we're going to look at online surveys – another method of collecting panel research data that has its own benefits and weaknesses.

Controllable Panel research via online surveys puts control over who fills out the survey and when in your hands. Looking at other research methods, you see a lot of control handed over to the participant. The participant normally needs to remember to fill the diary every day, or they need to take their items home and scan each one, etc.

With online surveys that is not the case. Online surveys can be programmed to help make sure the individual fills it out as needed, within a realistic timeframe, because they send out the survey and can be programmed to send reminders if the survey isn't completed.

In addition, your ability to review the dataset helps as well. You can check to make sure the person has filled out the survey, and if they have not you can call them and remind them that their answers are needed to continue with the study. Overall, you have a great deal more control over the research than with other methods of collecting panel data.

Systematic/Analyzable Surveys also allow you to make sure that everyone is completing their survey in a systematic way, so that you can easily calculate the data and work with it accordingly. All of the information you get from a survey is online, each question is answered correctly, many are given numeric values, and you can use and review that data at any point. Permanent In addition, online surveys present a permanent use of data.

Diaries can be lost, scanners can be lost, but online surveys can be saved online forever, ensuring that even in the event that someone drops out of the survey you can still have all of their data and use it as needed. Ensuring that your research data is kept safe is a valuable component of online surveys. Less Costly It's also plausible that you panel research will be less costly.

Online survey software has already been developed, and its affordability ensures that the survey is cost controlled. This is less possible with scanners and in person research techniques. Are their cons to using online surveys for panel research? Absolutely.

We'll discuss these cons in the next article and finish with some concluding thoughts.