Thrown out of surveys? How to avoid this
Published by Staff writer in Tips · 13 December 2021
Tags: Thrown, out, of, surveys, kicked, out, of, surveys, why, how, to, stop
Tags: Thrown, out, of, surveys, kicked, out, of, surveys, why, how, to, stop
Here are some examples:
• The topic of research is a new economy bakkie aimed at those who have never bought a bakkie before due to price. The researchers only wish to interview males who do not already own a bakkie, work in a trade and are younger than 60 years.
• Research on old age homes is being conducted. Researchers only wish to interview people over 60 years in a higher income bracket, who have certain medical conditions.
• A new low-cost baby milk powder is the topic of research. The researcher is only looking for lower-income females with a baby in a certain age range.
How can you solve this problem?
If you have just joined the panel, this will happen far more often than for an experienced panelist. The main reason for this is that successful long-term panelists have filled in their online profiles. Online profiles cover various topics of use to researchers in deciding who to include in their surveys.
If you haven’t completed this information you will get far more ‘irrelevant’ invites to surveys you won’t qualify for.
You can sometimes see this in action live by looking at your survey dashboard displaying the available surveys. If you look at this ‘before’ and then again ‘after’ you fill in your profile, you will notice a few of the irrelevant surveys vanishing from the dashboard straight after you have finished.
Lastly, just being persistent pays off in the end. Panelists who try and try again, and are honest in their responses get higher ranking and are more likely to be invited when limited opportunities exist.
Are there other reasons for being screened out?
There are a variety of possibilities. One of the most frequently observed is slow panelists who respond too late and get thrown out because the survey is already closed (enough panelists have already completed). A second common issue is related – quotas for your target group are full. The survey may still be active, but there are enough panelists in your group who have already responded. Lastly, and unfortunately, sometimes the fault lies with the survey participant - if they did not pay attention, rushed or were dishonest or inconsistent, or perhaps have profile answers which don’t line up; this may trigger an algorithm to terminate. It is also possible a survey is disqualified for quality reasons after completion.
If you are being screened out 'late' in a survey, see this article.