Esomar 28 Questions
What experience does Decision Point have with providing online samples for market research?
Decision Point Research is a market research data collection company. The partners of the organization are the pioneers of research panels in Canada. Decision Point’s panel has been gathering opinions from Canadians across the country at a rapid pace since its inception in 2013.
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?
Decision Point embraces a number of online and offline panel building practices specific to the ethnic and new Canadian market. These approaches include:
• Face-to-face and intercept signups following the completion of onsite surveys
• Panelist referrals
• Organization referrals through a comprehensive reward system
• Onsite signups at events across Canada
• Advertising online using interactive websites
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?
Decision Point rarely, if at all, outsources panel work, simply because there is very limited supply outside of our panel. In the event that we do use external suppliers, Decision Point initiates a cookie blocker that prevents duplicate respondents.
Are your sample source(s) used solely for market research? If not, what other purposes are they used for?
The Decision Point panel is used solely for market research purposes. The privacy and security of our panelists’ data are protected with strict adherences.
How do you source groups that may be hard to reach on the internet?
Decision Point has the unique ability to reach these demographics using an offline approach of face-to-face and intercept methodology to complement our panel. Unlike other suppliers, Decision Point does not outsource any offline work.
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?
Given the very limited supply of new immigrant samples, Decision Point rarely, if ever, requires samples from other suppliers. In the event that our panel does not contain the sample for a particular project, we work with trusted panel partners and operate on the basis of a preferred supplier list with first-time use under controlled circumstances. We will always notify our clients when we are using another panel and whether we have used them before.
What steps do you take to achieve a representative sample of the target population?
Decision Point follows Statistics Canada immigration patterns for representativeness.
Do you employ a survey router?
No, Decision Point does not employ a survey router.
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?
Not applicable.
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?
Not applicable.
If you use a router: Who in your company sets the parameters of the router? Is it a dedicated team or individual project managers?
Not applicable.
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?
Decision Point embraces a number of online and offline panel building practices specific to the ethnic and new Canadian market. These approaches include:
• Face-to-face and intercept signups following the completion of onsite surveys
• Panelist referrals
• Organization referrals through a comprehensive reward system
• Onsite signups at events across Canada
• Advertising online using interactive websites
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?
Members of our panel are asked key profiling information listed below, and are encouraged to keep their information recent and update it each time they collect their incentive earnings. The Decision Point panel is the only panel in Canada that profiles on tenure in Canada. Decision Point collects key profile attributes such as:
- First and last name
- Date of birth
- Gender
- Province
- Ethnicity
- Tenure in Canada
Primary language spoken at home
Please describe your survey initiation 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.
Survey invitations are sent via email to registered panelists. Invitations typically include the subject of the survey, the incentive offered, survey length, and the timeline provided for completion. All invitations contain a link to opt-out of surveys and Decision Point communications. On occasion, when urgent requests come in Decision Point may communicate with respondents through text messages.
Please describe the incentives that respondents are offered for taking part in surveys. How does this differ by sample source, by interview length, by respondent characteristics?
We offer cash incentives for respondents who meet the requirements and complete the survey. The reward is based on the survey length and overall anticipated response rate.
What information about a project do you need in order to give an accurate estimate of feasibility using your own resources?
Decision Point requires the following information from potential clients:
- Survey topic
- Survey length
- Survey incidence after targeting
- Regions covered
- Age and gender requirements
Mobile friendliness
What information do you provide to debrief your client after the project has finished?
This varies from project to project and is dependent on the needs of the client.
Who is responsible for data quality checks? If it is you, do you have in place procedures to reduce or eliminate undesired within survey behaviours, 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.
We conduct data quality checks on all of our studies. Some of the things we look for include:
- Racing/speedsters
- Repeat patterns
- Extreme values
- Nonsensical answers
- Answers conflicting with respondents’ database information
- Illogical answers to open-ended questions
- Trap questions to assess panel quality
If the budget allows (client’s decision), random telephone validation of a percentage of surveys afterwards
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 process vary across your sample sources?
A maximum of 3 emails are sent to panel members regardless of the duration of the research study. In our experience at Decision Point, we have found that ethnic targets tend to take longer to complete their surveys. Decision Point sends fewer reminders and invites than typical panel companies.
How often can the same individual take part in a survey within a specified period? How does this process vary across your sample sources? How do you manage this within categories and/or time period?
Decision Point captures all surveys our panelists participate in using the respondent’s unique panel ID. We measure panel activity to ensure healthy panel use, and carefully select panel members for each survey to ensure members are not over-contacted.
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?
This information is collected and stored in our database. It can be made available to a client at an additional cost.
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 point of entry to a survey or router. If you offer B2B samples what are the procedures there, if any?
Only panelists registering with valid and unique email addresses may join the panel. GEO IP is used to ensure that they are based in Canada. We also employ unique finger-printing, meaning it is nearly impossible to answer the survey twice from the same computer. In addition, panelists are sent subsequent verification surveys from time to time and the data collected from these surveys is compared with their initial registration data.
Please describe the ‘opt-in for market research’ processes for all your online sample sources.
Panelists are required to pass a double opt-in process. Once a panelist has fully registered through our online profiling form, they receive a confirmation message. New panel members must then confirm their email address and click on a link to confirm their desire to participate in future online surveys or focus groups.
Please provide a link to your privacy policy. How is your privacy policy provided to your respondents?
Decision Point’s privacy policy can be found here and is accessible to every panelist.
Please describe the measures you take to ensure data protection and data security.
All data is stored on well-protected servers and sampling is carried out through highly encrypted links to the database servers. All survey data is de-personalized and linked to the panel database using numeric IDs, so the identity of the panelist is always protected. Decision Point always demands that our supplier of database services and servers makes sure that backups are performed regularly and that proper security is applied in all stages.
Please describe the measures you take to ensure data protection and data security.
All data is stored on well-protected servers and sampling is carried out through highly encrypted links to the database servers. All survey data is de-personalized and linked to the panel database using numeric IDs, so the identity of the panelist is always protected. Decision Point always demands that our supplier of database services and servers makes sure that backups are performed regularly and that proper security is applied in all stages.
What practices do you follow to decide whether online research should be used to present commercially sensitive client data or materials to survey respondents?
Decision Point follows the guidelines recommended to us by the MRIA. Sensitive information is analyzed in advance of study launches by the partners of the company.
Are you certified to any specific quality system? If so, which one(s)?
We are in full compliance of all recommended industry guidelines and practices, as well as Canadian federal and provincial laws and rules including the Canadian Privacy Act.
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?
Decision Point restricts registration for panelists less than 16 years of age; however, we often reach out to parents for consent and cooperation if this younger age target is required. Decision Point follows the guidelines recommended by the MRIA.