The Impact of Varying Financial Incentives on Data Quality in Web Panel Surveys

Abstract

Abstract This study assesses whether varying contingent financial incentives in a web panel survey altered respondent behavior. A sample of US web panel participants were randomly assigned to cash incentive levels ranging from $0.50 to $3.00 awarded upon completion of an online survey gauging preferences for fresh strawberries. The analytical results indicate that increased contingent incentives had no clear association with the eligibility or break-off rates. Increased incentives reduced the incidence of trap question failure among a subset of qualified respondents. Responses of respondents flagged as unqualified to complete the survey, or qualified but inattentive, consistently differed from other qualified respondents on many survey items over a range of incentive levels. Overall, the results suggest increased contingent incentives yield limited improvements in the behavior of web panel respondents.