ESOMAR 28 QUESTIONS
Answered by insiTEQ to help online research buyers make informed decisions.
1. What experience does your company have in providing online samples for market research?
Our journey began as a panel recruitment channel for research agencies globally and locally through our network of publishers. Over the years we started to build our own research panel, which now aids us in servicing our clients on our new journey as a sample recruitment company assisting and supporting research agencies in completing their research projects. We currently offer the most extensive online consumer research panel with more than 270 000, across 10 African countries.
SAMPLE SOURCE & RECRUITMENT
2. Please describe and explain the type(s) of online sample sources from which you get respondents. Are these databases? Actively managed research panels? Direct marketing lists? Social networks? Web intercept (also known as river) samples?
insiTEQ manages its own research panel and makes use of its sister companies trusted network of publishers to recruit a fresh base of panelists. All panelists are validated and double opted-in to our database to receive invitations to surveys via email and sms and are all actively managed and profiled for better targeting. We have integrated software that enables us to measure engagement of our base and the quality of their responses, and facilitation of their incentives.
3. If you provide samples from more than one source, how are the different sample sources blended together to ensure validity? How can this be replicated over time to provide reliability? How do you deal with the possibility of duplication of respondents across sources?
insiTEQ only makes use of its own panel to service its clients. We have our own recruitment channels and ensure that we have a sizable segment meeting the client’s requirement before going in field to avoid the need to supplement with third-party sources. We make use of a variety of advanced technologies to de- duplicate both within our panel and across recruitment sources. Our links are set to a single click per device and lock in IP addresses to prevent retakes. We can ensure that appropriately stratified samples can be replicated over time by constantly profiling all sources in the same ways.
We also use several technologies and processes at the survey level, including application of unique IDs, digital fingerprinting to provide an additional level of reassurance to our clients, along with contributing to overall de-duplication and quality management framework designed in-house.
4. Are your sample source(s) used solely for market research? If not, what other purposes are they used for?
Our panel is dedicated solely for the purpose of market research.
5. How do you source groups that may be hard to reach on the internet?
Our strategy mainly is to recruit internet users. We have the capability to zero-rate our platforms to accommodate lower LSM users that may not have data to complete our surveys and we also make use of SMS recruitment. Backed with extensive lead generation experience, to attract higher LSM groups, we have the ability to target users using LinkedIN, Social Media, PPC.
SAMPLING & PROJECT MANAGEMENT
6. If on a particular project, you need to supplement your sample(s) with sample(s) from other providers, how do you select those partners? Is it your policy to notify a client in advance when using a third party provider?
We own a large network of publishers for panelist recruitment as well as other means of in-house recruitment channels. Where we fall short, we resort to recruiting more of the sample required into our Panel, to double opt them in to doing research and only then do we make use of the participants.
In the event where we need to outsource from third parties, the client is notified upon request for quote, in cases where we foresee a shortage of sample from our base and can’t recruit more, the client is informed prior to the sample top-up supplier being engaged.
7. What steps do you take to achieve a representative sample of the target population?
We have applied technologies that use simple and stratified sampling algorithms depending on the target population required by the client. We collaborate with our clients to deliver stratified samples that closely match and are representative of the targeted sample by careful quota selection. In cases where the desired sample is representative of the general population, we employ random sampling as this is the nature of our panel.
8. Do you employ a survey router?
insiTEQ does not employ a survey router at this time.
9. If you use a router: Please describe the allocation process within your router. How do you decide which surveys might be considered for a respondent? On what priority basis are respondents allocated to surveys?
insiTEQ does not use a survey router so this issue does not arise. All our samples are drawn independently from each other.
10. If you use a router: What measures do you take to guard against, or mitigate, any bias arising from employing a router? How do you measure and report any bias?
insiTEQ does not employ a survey router at this time.
11. If you use a router: Who in your company sets the parameters of the router? Is it a dedicated team or individual project managers?
insiTEQ does not employ a survey router at this time.
12. What profiling data is held on respondents? How is it done? How does this differ across sample sources? How is it kept up-to-date? If no relevant profiling data is held, how are low incidence projects dealt with?
Upon joining the panel, each panelist provides basic profile data incl (First name, Last name, Email Address, Cell Number, Province) & gives consent to profiling through a double-opt-in process. The data provided is then enriched through data partners to ensure validity of the information provided and to increase the panelist chance of being recruited given an increased number of valid data points.
All panelists undergo this process regardless of source so as to maintain a high quality of valid data. The database is kept up-to-date every 3 months.
13. Please describe your survey invitation process. What is the proposition that people are offered to take part in individual surveys? What information about the project itself is given in the process? Apart from direct invitations to specific surveys (or to a router), what other means of invitation to surveys are respondents exposed to? You should note that not all invitations to participate take the form of emails.
All our panel member invites are tailored to each panelist Via SMS or Email. The recruitment communication will typically contain: LOI, Unique Survey Link, a brief description of the project, incentive for completion, unsubscribe link, contact information.
14. Please describe the incentives that respondents are offered for taking part in your surveys. How does this differ by sample source, by interview length, by respondent characteristics?
All successful samples recruited are incentivized using an Airtime reward that typically ranges from R10-R150+. The difference in the amount paid as incentive will be based on LOI and respondent characteristics. To avoid developing and enabling a “purely-for-profit” culture, we pay all incentives within 48hrs and there is no log-in portal for panelists to track points with the hope to “cash out” a bigger balance owed by taking multiple surveys within a certain time-frame.
15. What information about a project do you need in order to give an accurate estimate of feasibility using your own resources?
Length of Interview, Incidence Rate, Field Period and any client-imposed restrictions i.e. (desktop only) etc.
If incidence rate is not available, then we need details of the exact qualification criteria so we can make an accurate estimate using profiling information to determine the proportion of a given community that may qualify for a survey. We can then use the same information to target survey invitations to just those most likely to qualify, avoiding panel burnout and maximizing total panel capacity.
16. Do you measure respondent satisfaction? Is this information made available to clients?
insiTEQ employs a full-time dedicated community manager that deals directly with panelists’ queries, comments and complaints. This information can be made available to clients on reasonable request.
17. What information do you provide to debrief your client after the project has finished?
All through the project, insiTEQ employs a client relationship manager who constantly communicates with clients to ensure all plans set out before execution are going well.
For all surveys we program and host during & after the project, each client can track in real-time all successful completes, clicks, impressions etc. We also have the ability to grant client access to the project stats that depict response rates, average completion time, per-respondent-level data that can be exported in multiple formats incl Excel and PowerPoint.
DATA QUALITY & VALIDATION
18. Who is responsible for data quality checks? If it is you, do you have in place procedures to reduce or eliminate undesired within survey behaviors, such as (a) random responding, (b) Illogical or inconsistent responding, (c) overuse of item non- response (e.g. “Don’t Know”) or (d) speeding (too rapid survey completion)? Please describe these procedures.
insiTEQ is responsible for data checks for all studies that are programmed and hosted in-house. On a project-by-project basis, we monitor survey response data in real time for surveys programmed and hosted by insiTEQ and apply programming that automatically eliminate people suspected of being fraudulent based on the rules we have set. Upon completion of the project we then do manual data check to check for survey abusers using our pattern detection methodologies.
These methods include but are not limited to:
Trick/Red Herring questions flagging Straight linear flagging Open-end answers review/flagging De-duplication by IP addresses
insiTEQ operates on a one-strike and out rule for fraud and survey abusers. Panel members that are suspected of being survey abusers or fraudulent are immediately removed from all live projects and added to our blacklist list to prevent any survey invites from reaching them or re-registering again thus preventing participation in future projects until proved otherwise. Digital fingerprinting technology is used to ensure that the blacklisted panel members cannot re-register under different account details.
19. How often can the same individual be contacted to take part in a survey within a specified period whether they respond to the contact or not? How does this vary across your sample sources?
Across all sample sources, each panelist will receive a maximum of 1 survey invite within a 90-day period regardless of their response to the contact.
20. How often can the same individual take part in a survey within a specified period? How does this vary across your sample sources? How do you manage this within categories and/or time periods?
Our system keeps a log of all communications that have been sent to each panelist. Should there be panelists in a certain desired sample that have received any communication within a 90-day period, they will be ring-fenced from the sample until such time the 90 days since last communication elapses.
21. Do you maintain individual level data such as recent participation history, date of entry, source, etc., on your survey respondents? Are you able to supply your client with a project analysis of such individual level data?
Yes, upon reasonable request by client we are able to provide recruitment Source, Survey history, Response rates.
22. Do you have a confirmation of respondent identity procedure? Do you have procedures to detect fraudulent respondents? Please describe these procedures as they are implemented at sample source registration and/or at the point of entry to a survey or router. If you offer B2B samples what are the procedures there, if any?
To ensure integrity and quality of our panel insiTEQ deploys the following strategies:
As panelist’s signup to be part of our panel, they are sent a double opt-in email and automatically go through data enrichment via API. De-duplication on new panel member accounts against that of existing panel members happens real-time.
To ensure quality and validity at the point of survey entry insiTEQ makes use of:
Digital fingerprinting technology to minimize any residual risk of duplication We make use of extensive profiling to ensure that the right people are invited to surveys to minimize the risk of fraudulent response patterns. We monitor survey response data in real time for surveys programmed and hosted by insiTEQ and apply programming that automatically eliminate people suspected of being fraudulent based on the rules we have set.
POLICIES & COMPLIANCE
23. Please describe the ‘opt-in for market research’ processes for all your online sample sources.
Panel members recruited via the website receive an email with a double opt-in link to confirm their registration. Once the double opt-in link in the verification email has been activated does the panelist get invitations to participate in client projects.
24. Please provide a link to your Privacy Policy. How is your Privacy Policy provided to your respondents?
insiTEQ’s Panel Privacy Policy is provided to respondents on the website upon sign up. The panelist’s registration to the panel is only processed upon their confirmation that they read, understood and agreed to our privacy policy. A brief summary of the privacy policy is also included within all surveys hosted by insiTEQ as the introduction page of the survey.
Terms and Conditions – https://za.surveynow.com/terms-and-conditions/ Privacy Policy – https://za.surveynow.com/privacy-policy/
25. Please describe the measures you take to ensure data protection and data security.
insiTEQ operates secure data networks protected by next generation firewalls and password protection systems. Our security and privacy policies are periodically reviewed and enhanced as necessary and only authorized individuals have access to the information.
26. What practices do you follow to decide whether online research should be used to present commercially sensitive client data or materials to survey respondents?
This is ultimately a risk and decision every client must make when conducting research on their ideas and concepts. When bringing new product developments, visuals, descriptions to a group of people for the purpose of collecting their opinion, the client is exposing themselves to the risk that those asked may act on that information independently once they have completed the survey.
While we can put in measures to prevent or make it harder for ideas and material to be copied and redistributed by respondents, there is no technology solution that can completely eliminate this.
We may however recommend using an alternative survey methodology, if the material is particularly sensitive. This can include conducting the research in a controlled environment such as in home, central location testing at a controlled research facility or mall intercept. With this said, there isn’t a methodology that assures total IP security, be it within an online or offline environment.
27. Are you certified to any specific quality system? If so, which one(s)?
Yes. ReturnX Digital (Pty) LTD, the parent company under which insiTEQ operates is a Southern African Marketing Research Association NPC (SAMRA) Organisation member.
28. Do you conduct online surveys with children and young people? If so, do you adhere to the standards that ESOMAR provides? What other rules or standards, for example COPPA in the United States, do you comply with?
No. insiTEQ’s panel has an age restriction of 18+.