Evaluating the Impact of Three Incentive Schemes on Survey Responses in Online Longitudinal Panels

Oregon Convention Center 

I will present the results of an online experiment that evaluated the impact of three incentive payment plans on survey responses in online panels. This study involved 500 online panelists from the University of Michigan (U-M) Masters' student population. Over the course of 6 months starting in October 2023, they were asked to complete a 10-minute wellbeing survey every two and a half months, for a total of three waves. The participants were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups: the control group received a $5.00 cash incentive for each completed survey, mirroring typical longitudinal study incentives. The two treated groups either received a $5.00 cash incentive one week before each survey wave or a one-time upfront lump sum of $15.00 unconditionally, irrespective of their actual survey participation. Initial results show that response rates among the treated groups are significantly higher than the control group across all survey waves. The treatment effects are robust to the inclusion of covariates. The talk will focus on the underlying theories and mechanisms that drive the results, and discuss their implications for longitudinal data collection in online panels.

Longitudinal data collections

Probability-based online panels

Panel attrition

Survey nonresponse

Survey incentives

Student mental well-being 

Survey Research Methods Section