As a respondent to online surveys, you share your opinions on products and services and get tiny rewards. But a lot goes behind the scenes. There are several prejudices about such surveys, such as they’re scams or don’t take data privacy into serious consideration. But please know that these aren’t true at all.

The processes behind market research and online surveys are intricate and need expertise. Most online surveys and field studies demand a lot of precision and depend on the inputs of panel members like you. So, we’re busting 5 myths related to online surveys and panels today.

5 Lesser Known Facts About Online Surveys

1. Myth: Compliance Covers All Security Issues

Fact: Data Security >> Compliance

When you create your profile with a panel company and respond to surveys, you agree with their safe and minimal data-sharing policies. But remember, the data they share is at the aggregate level, which means your data is secured in their database and doesn’t go public.

Government and several authorities define data sharing, privacy, and security policies, such as GDPR and HIPPA, to safeguard your personal information. As a panel company, we comply with these guidelines in all the regions in which we work.

However, as a participant, you must know that data security is more than compliance. Your data security is important to us, and so is the system behind incentivization. It doesn’t seek your bank details or financial data. We never use your demographics for marketing purposes, as well.

Not only do we protect your privacy, but we also care about clients’ data security. Sensitive ideas, numbers, and patents related to their brands, products, and services are exposed at various degrees to our teams and systems when we partner with them. Any vulnerable link or leak can cost them millions.

So, we take the responsibility and onus to protect the data of all our stakeholders while complying with the regulatory policies.

Learn about personal data privacy when you participate in online surveys.

2. Myth: More Demographic Dimensions means Better Data

Fact: Diversity >> Demographics

Yes, demographics are critical for surveys to succeed. Your demographic values help a market research agency mine down the data on various dimensions such as age, education, location, profession, gender, and interests. And then, they figure out which aspects of a product need improvement. So, the wider these dimensions are, or the more categories in your profile, the better.

But these demographics make data richer if the teams go deeper. That means having gender values limited to male, female, and trans might limit the categorization. Adding options like “don’t want to reveal” or “prefer not to say” can help all those respondents participate without choosing sensitive options they don’t want to discuss. Sexual orientation in this example.

Similarly, a survey might be about pop culture. That doesn’t mean a respondent from villages may not have opinions. Or there’s no reason for the boomers to stay behind in participation unless the survey mentions so.

Also, remember that diversity ensures wider coverage of the population, expanding the target audience. And inclusivity is the need of the hour because all lives matter.

So, when you see more and more options to be selected from in multiple choice questions, don’t get riled up with the length of the survey or get confused. They’re there to increase diversity and inclusivity in the audience.

Learn how diversity helps better product design.

3. Myth: More Opinions, Better Surveys

Fact: Quality >> Quantity

By using survey routers, you may increase your survey participation. Or you might enroll for multiple panel brands to increase your incentives. But remember that data quality always trumps quantity.

For a market research agency and brands, data quality is always more important than quantity. With proper and correct data, cleaning the numbers and tabulation and analysis of data become less difficult and more worth the money in the research.

100 respondents giving the right inputs make survey outputs more reliable than 400 users giving warped and incorrect data. Missing numbers or wrong and inconsistent values from an online survey force the research teams to discard big data sets, which causes them more time, effort, and money.

To conclude, when you participate in several consumer insights surveys, you might be pressed for time. This might lead to data inconsistencies. So, if you prioritize data quality and your time over incentives, especially for questions that need you to write long answers, it helps market research teams more.

4. Myth: Play More, Win More

Fact: Honest Opinions >> Incentives

An incentive that comes to you in the form of gift cards, discount coupons, redeemable points, or tiny cash is a token of gratefulness for your time and efforts from the panel company. It isn’t your income stream. If you’ve considered making it your primary livelihood, it’s nothing less than a pipedream.

Instead, be honest and accurate with your opinions and profile data. That’s what makes market research successful and worth all stakeholders’ time. In fact, tainted data can skew the tabulation and analysis of data and eventually mars the study’s purpose, affecting the market foothold of the product in question.

For instance, if you pose as an automobile expert and answer randomly to a survey for an engine’s performance, it will distort the factors the brand is looking for to improve the engine.

Offering the right data is an individual’s responsibility, and there’s no scale to measure the correctness of one’s opinions. The market research agency and the brand can only trust your opinions and profile information to shape their offerings. So, remember how your truthfulness affects the market and people using the product.

Read about 7 ethics you should follow as a survey taker.

5. Myth: Big Brands, Good Surveys

Fact: Community >> Brand

If you want to become better at contributing to the research and sharing your voice with the brands, think about joining panel member communities.

Many panel companies nurture online forums and discussion groups for their respondents. These forums offer you opportunities to learn more about the brands, products, market research processes, and how data works to shape products and services in the market.

As an active member of these groups, you improve your experience as a panel member.

Several panel companies need experts for CATI (computer-assisted telephonic interview) surveys. If you’re an expert, say in cosmetics, you can connect well with other like-minded people from the fashion industry in forums and enrich your learnings. Any knowledge you gain helps you grow in your career, too. Don’t forget that expert panels are rewarded in better ways as well.

And who knows, this can also become one of your passion projects, which fulfills your desire for community kinship.

Start Your Journey With Opinionest Panel

Opinionest has been working with various clients from different industries for 14 years. We emphasize data privacy and quality while maintaining a panel of 4.5 million respondents worldwide. If you’re looking for a good panel to start or enrich your survey journey, look no further and join our team here for free.