With Lifepanel we are supporting fieldwork agencies to transform from traditional probability-based data collection to mixed-mode online data collection which continues with the same methodological rigor and data quality compared to telephone data collection or face-to-face surveys. This blog article explains how fieldwork agencies can parse back respondents from partially completed interviews or fully completed interviews back to Lifepanel in a compliant way to reduce future fieldwork costs while at the same time increasing their data collection portfolio without adding additional overhead costs.
What is the Lifepanel ID?
Let us start with a very basic question: What is the Lifepanel ID that is now part of your Sample Solutions RDD sample deliveries? The Lifepanel ID is a unique identifier for any RDD mobile and landline number. Every mobile and landline number received a unique hash consisting of the country code and the hash. When we deliver an RDD sample record to a client, we also provide the hash value of the phone number.
Upon fieldwork completion, it is possible to parse back the Lifepanel ID to us for the completed and partially completed interviews.
The Lifepanel ID allows fieldwork partners to parse back the contact data of completed or partially completed interviews to us without compromising any PII as the actual number is not transmitted but only its hash. The Lifepanel ID can be returned back via our Survey Platform environment, secure FTP or a zipped password protected file.
The Lifepanel ID in practice
Now that we have created a basic understanding around the Lifepanel ID, let us take a look at how the Lifepanel works in practice for Fieldwork companies. Below are the five steps outlined that fieldwork agencies can use to increase the lifetime value of survey respondents for their data collection needs:
- A fieldwork agency orders its RDD Sample from Sample Solutions which includes an extra column of Lifepanel ID and includes a unique hash for each phone number
- The fieldwork is completed using the RDD sample
- The hashes for partial completes and full completes are sent back to Lifepanel
- Lifepanel invites the respondents to Lifepanel to become panel members and takes care of the entire invitation and incentive process.
- The fieldwork agency is credited with a credit for an online-probability interview allowing the fieldwork agency to offer mixed mode probability interviews at higher margins compared to CATI only.
During the whole process, no PII is fed back to Lifepanel. The Sample Solutions database contains hashed numbers for each phone number so it can always track back the hash to the correct phone number. From a fieldwork agency perspective, there is no need to invest in the development or hosting of a panel which only adds additional overhead to fieldwork agencies – they can remain focused on their core capabilities while at the same time benefiting from this future-proof technology.
The Lifepanel marketplace model
The Lifepanel marketplace model is a win-win-win scenario for fieldwork agency, respondent and Lifepanel itself. The survey respondent benefits from the marketplace models that she or he now receives a specific remuneration each month in exchange for his views. He also only receives a maximum of one survey per month. The fieldwork agency benefits from the marketplace model in such a way that its recruitment efforts yield future respondents that the agency can re-use at a a decreased cost plus it has now access to probability-based online interviews to extend its service portfolio. Lifepanel benefits as well as it receives additional survey respondents from probability-based interviews from its partner at a fraction of the recruitment cost compared to standalone recruitment.
How to get started with the Lifepanel ID
As of 2023, any standard Sample Solutions RDD orders come with a Lifepanel ID. If not, you can request from Sample Solutions to get your existing sample enriched with the Lifepanel ID. Even if you have completed fieldwork in the past year, you are still able to parse back these respondents to us to start the recruitment process which helps you to build up your Lifepanel credits.
Curious about leveraging the Lifepanel ID in combination with your CATI call center? Feel free to submit your partnership request in the form above.
