Who are the online panelists and why they cannot represent the general population
The vast majority of Internet surveys are conducted using “online” panels (known as access panels, online or opt-in panels). As non-probability samples, access panel surveys have been questioned based on general theoretical arguments and empirical studies. Although convincing, these theoretical arguments cannot rule out the possibility that a specific survey on a specific access panel may produce results that are very close to those of a competing, high-quality probability survey. On the other hand, empirical studies are conducted on a limited set of panels and do not inform on the very nature of panelists in general that explains the biases …