Volume 4, issue 1 (2026)
Who are the online panelists and why they cannot represent the general population
Stéphane Legleye 
Université Paris-Saclay, Inserm, CESP; Centre de Recherche en Économie and Statistique (CREST), France
Guillaume Chauvet Ecole Nationale de la Statistique et de l’Analyse de l’Information (ENSAI), CNRS and Université de Rennes, France
Thomas Merly-Alpa - Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques (Insee), France
Noémie Soullier - Santé publique France, France
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 [...]
access panel, bias, probability and non-probability, survey methods, Web surveys,
Effects of QR codes in a political science probability-based web survey
Oliver Lipps FORS (Swiss Centre of Expertise in the Social Sciences) and University of Berne, Switzerland
Anke Tresch FORS and University of Lausanne, Switzerland
Louis Durussel FORS, Switzerland
In this article, we use a probability-based, 30-minute web survey on political behavior to test effects of QR codes in mail invitations. As expected, we find a strong increase in mobile phone use compared to computer use. However, there is no difference in response rates, sample composition, response speed or response quality. This suggests that [...]
panel consent, Probability sample, QR code, survey length, Web surveys,
From Face-to-Face to Push-to-Web: Methodological Lessons from the Transition of the “Social Survey Austria"
Matthias Penker University of Graz, Austria
Anja Eder University of Graz, Austria
Markus Hadler University of Graz, Austria
Numerous national and international survey programs, including general population surveys, have been shifting their mode of data collection from face-to-face to self-completion designs. Push-to-web designs are a particularly promising approach that, however, also introduces methodical challenges. In this paper, we address several of these challenges by providing in-depth empirical analyses of selection and measurement effects [...]
CAWI, measurement effects, mixed-mode, push to web survey, selection effects,
Should We Worry About Problematic Response Behaviour in Social Media Surveys? Understanding the Impact of Social Group Cues in Recruitment
Social media advertising has become a common tool for participant recruitment, especially when targeting hard-to-reach or underrepresented populations. A common strategy to boost engagement is the use of social group cues – textual or visual references to religion, gender identity, or ethnicity. While these cues can enhance recruitment efficiency, their impact on response data quality [...]
Facebook, non-probability samples, response quality, Satisficing, social media recruitment, Social media survey,
