All time references are in CEST
The role of online research panels in surveying hard-to-reach populations |
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| Session Organisers | Professor Agata Górny (University of Warsaw) Dr Barbara Jancewicz (University of Warsaw) |
| Time | Tuesday 18 July, 09:00 - 10:30 |
| Room | |
Online surveys and research panels are gaining in importance in scientific and marketing research. They allow a cost-effective way to recruit respondents and collect data from people in a wide geographical area. Importantly, research panels enable obtaining representative samples and facilitate longitudinal research for reasonable cost and research effort.
The session aims to discuss uses of online surveys and especially online research panels to study hard-to-reach populations, such as migrants, platform workers, people with disabilities etc. We are particularly interested in their role in longitudinal research.
There are various methods of participants’ recruitment to online surveys (e.g. social media platforms, internet groups, targeted mailing), which can be implemented also in the case of hard-to-reach populations. One of them is using online research panels, which involves at least two approaches. The first is recruitment of hard-to-reach groups from the existing online panels of general populations. This approach uses the existing infrastructure, but risks reaching insufficient sample (small and/or biased). The second solution involves building an online research panel dedicated to a certain hard-to-reach population (e.g. migrants in the given country). However, it usually requires relatively high investments and effort due to comparatively difficult recruitment of participants.
We invite researchers to share their experiences with online surveys using research panels and also other methods of recruitment in studies of hard-to-reach populations, particularly longitudinal ones. The session provides the floor to a broad range of topics related to online panels’ research practice, such as recruitment, representativeness, attrition, cost-effectiveness and other issues posing challenges in studying hard-to-reach populations. We encourage participants to share both positive and negative research experiences.
Keywords: online survey, research panel, hard-to-reach populations, longitudinal research
Mr Cameron Raynor (RA2) - Presenting Author
Ms Jessica Weber (RA2)
Recruiting non-English speakers into public opinion surveys remains a persistent challenge due to accessibility barriers and reliance on language-specific sample frames. Digital recruitment offers a novel approach to improving inclusivity through browser language targeting.
This study evaluates the effectiveness of browser language targeting in recruiting non-English-speaking respondents. Using digital advertising, we used browser language based targeting to recruit Canadian Punjabi speakers, American Spanish speakers and American Vietnamese speakers into three separate surveys. Recruitment outcomes are compared to those of English speakers within the same geographic areas. Metrics included response rates, recruitment costs, and sample representativeness. Additionally, we assess whether this method introduced biases or improved accessibility for underrepresented populations.
This research provides insight into the feasibility of recruiting non-English-speaking respondents without language-specific sample lists. The results offer insights into the efficacy and limitations of browser language targeting, advancing methodologies for inclusivity in public opinion research. By addressing barriers to participation, this study contributes to improving the diversity and representativeness of survey data.
Dr Filipp Chapkovskii (University of Duisburg-Essen) - Presenting Author
Dr Ivan Grigoriev (King's College London)
This study uses a high-frequency, longitudinal online panel of Ukrainians to examine how wartime well-being, hope, and peace expectations evolve under the pressure of external shocks. Over a three-week period, participants responded every second day to questions about their happiness, news consumption, and overall assessment of the situation in their region. In both the initial and final surveys, they also reported their attitudes toward the war, the likelihood of peace negotiations or truces, and the probability of favorable or unfavorable outcomes. By combining day-to-day mood and situational evaluations with these more comprehensive baseline and endpoint measures, the study identifies how shifts in external conditions influence both short-term emotional states and more stable attitudes about the conflict’s trajectory.
A key innovation of this design is the use of respondents’ geolocations to verify their self-reported experiences of external shocks. We cross-reference participants’ claims of air raid warnings and blackouts with external, location-specific datasets, ensuring that the occurrence of such events is accurately recorded. This triangulation not only enhances data quality but also strengthens the causal interpretation of how immediate wartime hardships alter people’s psychological well-being and their expectations for peace.
In addition, the study incorporates a broad set of individual-level covariates—such as self-reported health status, financial stability, and psychological measures (including overall life satisfaction, depressive symptoms, and general mood)—to account for baseline differences between respondents. By comparing within-subject changes over time and across regions with varying exposure to shocks, we can pinpoint the factors that shape resilience, government support, and the capacity for hope during conflict. Ultimately, this research provides nuanced insights into how wartime stressors intersect with individual traits to influence well-being, attitudes toward the war and peace.
Professor Agata Górny (University of Warsaw) - Presenting Author
The role of online research panels is growing in importance in a survey research. However, in the case of hard-to-survey populations, such as migrants, usage of such panels is still limited. The lack of reliable registries makes it often difficult to obtain representative samples of migrant populations be it with the use of research panels or without. Moreover, attrition rates tend to be relatively high in the case of mobile migrant populations. An additional challenge is selectivity of migrants to research panels related to their migration status: permanency of migration, legal status and others. Last but not least, migrants in research panels require specific measures relating to incentivisation and adjustment of research tools (e.g. translation of questionnaires).
The goal of the paper is to evaluate challenges and opportunities related to an online research panel of Ukrainian nationals in Poland set up at the University of Warsaw in 2022. At the moment, the panel encompasses over 3000 participants recruited mainly via Facebook adds. As of December 2024, already eight surveys were conducted on the panel, and three more are planned within half a year. Topics to be discussed in the paper include: selectivity of the research panel’s participants (especially underrepresentation of Ukrainian men uneager to reveal their presence in Poland during the war), intensity of their participation in conducted surveys, and attrition rates. The paper will demonstrate measures taken up to tackle these challenges and present avenues for development and maintenance of the research panel.