Two of the most common ways to get survey data are through survey panels and “organic sampling.” Since it is almost impossible to get survey responses without software, these two methods have been the best. When it comes to collecting samples and looking for perfect results everyone thinks about, use a customer for my survey, use a panel or both?
Due to the popularity of online surveys, neither of these ways to answer surveys is likely to go away any time soon.
Since online surveys give market researchers and marketers a wide range of survey types to choose from, the point of contention is whether survey panels or organic sampling is the better way to collect survey response data.
Defining Online Survey Panels
Survey panels, also called online panels or research panels, are a way to get information from people who have already agreed to take a survey and have been recruited and screened for it.
This method helps businesses because it guarantees that a certain number of people will fill out their survey. Usually, people in their target market are asked to fill out the survey.
There are many ways to put together groups of people to answer surveys. One of these ways is mail-in recruitment, which has become much less common since the rise of the Internet. Random-Digit Dial (RDD), a method that uses random phone numbers to call people and ask them to take a survey, is another.
Organic Sampling Defined
This method is a type of RDE-based response collection in which a survey is sent out randomly to users who are already in apps and other digital spaces. It is also called “random organic sampling.”
Since surveys are given to people at random, this method lets people take the surveys in their natural environments. These are the places where people spend time because they want to. They didn’t have to go there because of a promotion, incentive, or because they signed up at a web panel.
Organic sampling works by giving users in natural settings optional invitations (or call-outs) to take quick surveys. These invitations and the surveys themselves are built right into the digital environments (like apps) that the users are in.
Pros of online panels:
- They provide a network of people who are willing to take surveys over and over again. This is especially helpful if you need to do studies that look at changes over time.
- They are cheap and can make quick studies.
- By asking the same people, again and again, you can see how their opinions change over time and how your target market changes its opinions.
- They let you make custom polling questions based on the research you’ve already done.
Pros of Organic Sampling
- You can avoid panel conditioning in an organic environment, which lets you get real answers from participants.
- It looks for the unique IDs of respondents so that they can be found even if they switch between devices. This keeps the same people from taking the same survey twice.
- Using the IDs of the respondents, you can make respondent profiles. These profiles give you an overview of the respondents’ behaviors and demographics, which are important pieces of information to have.
- In turn, the respondent profile helps stop fraud, since multiple accounts or bots won’t be able to send in their surveys
Which Sample Pool Method is Reigns Supreme?
Random organic sampling has made a name for itself in the survey world, thanks to Random Device Engagement. However, it still has to compete with survey panels, which are also very popular. There are many best online survey panel companies in the market, you can always contact them for getting the best quotes.
Other ways to pick people for surveys are becoming less popular, but survey panels are still used. Even though they may seem to have fewer pros and more cons, survey panels are still useful to researchers.
As a result, you are the only one who can decide which method of survey sampling is best for your market research needs. Random organic sampling is the way we choose to do surveys because it continues to work well, gives us good results, and doesn’t take too much time.