Relevance & Research Question: Since 2010 GESIS - Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences has been conducting a pilot with three studies to develop a strategy for recruiting and maintaining an online access panel based on a probability sample.
Methods & Data: The target frame were German-speaking adults living in Germany in private households who identified themselves as using the internet for private purposes. Panel members were recruited by means of a telephone interview. Samples were drawn implementing a dual frame approach (i.e., including both landline and mobile numbers). Internet-users were requested to join an online panel and to provide an email address. The online surveys replicated sample questions from ALLBUS, ESS, Eurobaromater, SOEP, including a large set of demographic variables
Results: In three studies nearly 1800 respondents were willing to join the panel. These respondents were subsequently invited to 8 online surveys. We present response rates, consent rates to join the panel, and actual participation rates for the recruitment interview and response rates for the eight online surveys.
Added Value: The data will be released to the scientific community. A first data release on family life is available in the GESIS data archive (doi:10.4232/1.11503). In addition, results from the experiments in the pilot help to understand the effects of various measures such as incentives and provide guidance in optimizing recruiting efforts.