Panel Configuration

Consent form configuration

In the module People under Panel configuration you will find the menu item “Consent form”, where you can create the consent form for the purpose of registering a panelist. In order to be able to use this feature to capture the consent of future portal participants, you must configure the consent form in default language, otherwise the checkbox will not be displayed. One configuration applies to all portals. This feature is available both for the login dialog via the portal and for inviting other panelists via e-mail. Otherwise the checkbox is not displayed.

• In the People module, you have a language overview under the menu item Consent form configuration of the Panel configuration, so that you can immediately recognize in which languages the consent form has already been created.

Automatic deletion of invited panelists

In the Panel configuration of the People module you have the new menu item Automatic deletion of invited panelists. Now you can automate the deletion of both the Tell-a-friend-panelists (module: Panel Website) and the panelists with panel status (module: Portals).

• Tell a friend: You check the option "Delete invited panellists without reaction after" and set the number of years, months or days after which the invited panellists who did not respond to the invitation should be deleted.
• Panelist with panel status: You check the option "Delete invited panelists without response after" and set the number of years, months or days after which the invited panelists who did not respond to the invitation should be deleted.
  • In addition, you select the panel statuses of the panelists to be deleted.

Ways of Entry

The way of entry by which a panelist entered the panel is recorded in the “reg_code” variable and can, for example, serve as a criterion for creating groups (see the performance data and grouping filters in Chapter "Creating and Editing Groups") or used for evaluation purposes.

Registration keys, generated for a specified way of entry, are employed when a candidate must authenticate himself in a closed panel before being able to register. Furthermore, they are used in promotional campaigns to allow for the subsequent identification of the canvassing panelist and for the evaluation of the success of a campaign.

The functions for setting up ways of entry and registration keys are located in the People module in the Panel configuration → Ways of entry menu. The following will be explained below:

• How to use ways of entry to record the registration processes used by the panelists.
• How to create new ways of entry.
• How to use categories to better manage ways of entry.
• How to generate and edit registration keys.
• How to dispatch registration keys.

Planning the Mapping of Registration Processes and Ways of Entry

The information via which way panelists entered the panel is frequently used for statistics and for grouping processes. Therefore, it is important to define dedicated ways of entry for various registration processes.

• Standard registration process with registration form:
  • You can decide which way of entry is assigned, unless the candidates have keys from a specific invitation campaign or tell-a-friend campaign. If you use several registration forms, e.g. a form for the normal process and another form for registration via Social Insight Connect, creating and assigning dedicated ways of entry enables you to segment the panelists by entry process later.
• Recruitment for closed panels with registration keys: Usually, a dedicated way of entry will be created for each invitation campagin, then registration keys are generated for this specific way of entry.
• Tell-a-friend campaign: For each new promotional campaign, a dedicated way of entry with the same name is created automatically.

Creating New Ways of Entry

1. Click on the Create way of entry button.
2. Enter a name for the way of entry.

3. Choose a category for the way of entry. By default the category “Default” is available. 

4. If you reward registration in the panel with bonus points, you will normally define the desired number in the field “Number of bonus points granted on registration” of the Configuration tab in the Website → Panel websites → {Selected language version} menu for the complete panel. If you would like to assign bonus points to a certain way of entry differing from the standard setting, enter the desired number in the “Number of bonus points” field.

5. Confirm by clicking on Save.

6. Click on the Edit icon in the overview table.

7. The detail view contains the name of the way of entry, an overview of the settings that have already been made, and various functions.

Organizing Ways of Entry by Means of Categories

You can sort and organize the ways of entry to the panel with the help of categories. The categories for ways of entry are managed in the People → Panel configuration → Categories for ways of entry menu.

• By default a new panel only has the category “Default”.
• Create this by clicking on the Create category button and fill in the form and Save.
• You can assign user teams with various access rights to ways of entry categories. Open the corresponding dialog by clicking on the Edit rights for category icon.

Generating and Editing Registration Keys

To generate and edit registration keys, click on the appropriate way of entry in the Panel configuration → Ways of entry menu.

Generating keys

Clicking on Generate keys will open an entry form in which you can specify the number of keys required. After that, confirm by clicking on Generate keys. The keys are created and can be used immediately. Also the following list of function buttons will be displayed.

Exporting keys

Clicking on the Export keys button will trigger the export of the keys that have been created. The file format is “Text (Tab delimited) (*.txt)” so that the file can be opened in applications such as MS Excel.

Exporting links

By clicking on the Export link button you trigger the export of full links with attached keys. The file format is “Text (Tab delimited) (*.txt)” so that the file can be opened in applications such as MS Excel.

Deactivating and activating keys

Clicking on Deactivate keys will block the existing keys. Clicking on Activate keys will activate them again, they can then be used by the panelists.

Deleting keys

The Delete keys and Delete unused keys functions allow you to delete all the entry keys that have been created resp. all superfluous keys.

Importing User-defined Keys

Sometimes, EFS users want to generate their own keys and communicate these to the panelists. You can import such user-defined keys. They should fulfill the following requirements:

• at least 8 characters, up to 32 characters.
• permitted characters: 0-9, a-z, A-Z.

Please proceed as follows:

• First, prepare the import file. It should have only one column which contains the keys. You can use both CSV and Excel.
• Follow the instructions above to create an appropriate way of entry. In the editing dialog of this way of entry, click on the Import keys button, select character set and import file and, finally, click on Send to upload the keys.

Dispatching Registration Keys

A registration key can be transferred to the potential panelist in two ways:

• As a GET parameter contained in a link: This link can be sent, e.g. by e-mail, from EFS Panel or by an external service provider. The entry keys can be transferred in the URL using the #ar_key# (“active recruitment key”) wildcard. Such a link consists of the URL, the character string ?lmi= and the actual registration key represented by the #ar_key# wildcard, e.g. http://www.yourpanel.com/index.php?lmi=#ar_key#.
• Manual entry: The panelist receives the registration key via e-mail and manually enters it on a special page of the panel. This method is usually employed for closed panels and requires additional programming which is not included in the scope of delivery for EFS People.

Dispatching registration keys from a personalized project

If you want to invite potential panelists to your panel by dispatching e-mails from EFS Panel, it is recommended that you work with a personalized project.

Import the e-mail addresses of the potential participants as well as the generated and activated registration keys into participant administration. For the participant import, assign a suitably-configured field of the participant administration to the “Registration key” column.

PCI Configuration

The Panelist Compliance Index allows you to capture the reliability of panelists and to store it in a variable. First of all a classification system is configured, e.g. “Top panelist”, “reliable panelist”, “somewhat careless panelist”. Then the Panel Compliance Index, which is dependent on certain events, is calculated and regularly updated. Key events could include, for example, regular participation in surveys or regularly logging into the panel. The PCI Index is also available when building groups.

You can configure the PCI Index in the People → Panel configuration → PCI configuration menu.

Developing Your Own Classification System

The classification system usually consists of a number of PCI codes:

• One of these PCI codes has been marked as a default value. As delivered in the standard panel this is the code “green”. This PCI code is assigned to all new panelists.
• Each PCI code has been assigned a numerical value.

• An increase or a decrease in the PCI value to another PCI code is calculated according to the conditions defined by the user. Conditions are defined using participant data, system data and master data.

On this basis you can set up your own classification system according to your own ideas:

• You can specify the number of codes.
• You can set the valuation yourself: The code with the highest numerical value can be assigned to the best or the worst panelist.
• You can set the default value with which a panelist begins: Candidates can begin with the best value, a mean value or at the lowest level.
• You can set the calculation conditions and the update interval yourself.
• It is also possible to change the PCI values of panel group members via a dedicated update rule.

Viewing Available PCI Codes

The table in the People → Panel configuration → PCI configuration menu will give you an overview of the available PCI codes. It contains the following information:

• Name: Name of the PCI code. In the standard panel colors are used to describe the PCI codes and span from “green” for a reliable panelist to “black” for an unreliable panelist. New panelists start in the standard panel with the default value of „green“.
• Description: Information on each PCI code.
• Code: Each PCI code is assigned a numerical value.
• Default value: The code marked as a default code will be assigned to all panelists whose attributes are not described by another code. In the standard panel the default value is „green“.
• Number of panelists: The number of panelists whose attributes correspond to each PCI code.
• Number of active panelists: The number of active panelists whose attributes correspond to each PCI code.

You have the following editing options:

• Edit: Clicking on this icon opens the dialog for editing the code.
• Delete: After a security question, the respective PCI code is deleted.

Calculating the PCI Codes

All new panelists start with the same code. This initial value will increase or decrease depending on the panelist’s behavior.

The menus for defining conditions are located on the Calculation tab: The sections “Condition for increasing the PCI value” and “Condition for decreasing the PCI value” each contain an Edit condition button, which is used to open the filter dialog.

The conditions will be checked with each PCI update. If either the condition for an increase or the condition for a decrease applies, the PCI value will be changed by a level accordingly. If both conditions apply, the PCI value remains unchanged. If there is no condition that applies, the PCI value will likewise remain unchanged.

Participant data, system data and master data can be used to define conditions.

Resetting the PCI Codes for All Panelists

If you want to reset the PCI code for all panelists to the default value, choose the Reset PCI codes for all panelistsbutton on the PCI codes tab. The change will be executed after a confirmation window.