Online

How this method is carried out

The questionnaire is built in dedicated software and, besides text questions, may contain images, sound, video or other interactive elements. It is then distributed to selected respondents. Online research is more comfortable for respondents, because they can answer at their own pace and at a moment when they have enough time. Everyone can therefore give their view calmly and without pressure. Compared with face-to-face or telephone interviewing, online is faster and easier to process, which is why it is so widely used.

How respondents are selected

There are several ways of reaching respondents. A survey is commonly run among the members of an online panel — respondents who have volunteered to take part in occasional research and have given their consent to be approached. There are several such panels in the Czech Republic, with tens or hundreds of thousands of members.

Researchers also often work with a client database, which the client entrusts to them for the duration of the project. People enter such a database by buying a particular product or service. The research is limited to areas directly related to the topics arising from the contractual, or pre-contractual, relationship with the customer. The researchers then return the database to the client and may not use it for any further research. If you do not wish to be contacted for research, approach whoever provided the product or service, or ask the research provider directly and they will pass your request on.

Other ways of recruiting respondents include an invitation to an online survey through a banner on a website. Interviewers may also offer participation in online research during a face-to-face interview, and telephone operators may do the same.

Why we need personal data and how we handle it

Participants in panel research are given detailed terms when they register, including information about data protection (the GDPR). Consent to the processing of personal data for research purposes is therefore given when the respondent voluntarily joins the panel, and it can be withdrawn at any time by suspending or ending that membership.

The agency usually verifies the respondent’s identity. This is a necessary step to ensure the quality of the survey: the results must not, for instance, contain duplicate answers from one respondent using a different e-mail address, or from someone whose profile is not credible. Some panels also ask respondents to complete a personal questionnaire. That information is then used to target the selection of respondents for particular studies (the target group may be active drivers, people who drink flavoured beverages, and so on).

Panel members also often support a charity through their activity or receive small incentives. The agency therefore stores the necessary contact and administrative details in the panel’s secure environment and uses them only for data quality control and administration. Answers to the research questions are not linked to an individual respondent during processing; clients receive only data without personal details, from which no individual can be identified.

Other online methods: protection is the key

The online environment also makes room for innovative techniques and methods — online group discussions, for example, or various forms of online community where users can comment on a topic over a longer period. In this changing environment it is always important to reassess respondents’ safety and to make sure it is properly protected.