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.

Information

Read rights for reg_code are required for accessing the People → Panel configuration → Ways of entry menu.

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

Click on the Create way of entry button.
Enter a name for the way of entry.
Choose a category for the way of entry. By default the category “Default” is available.
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.
Confirm by clicking on Save.
Click on the Edit icon in the overview table.
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.

Limitations

The limit for the generation of registration keys is 15,000,000 for a single way of entry and per generation process. At the same time, this is also the maximum number of keys for a way of entry.

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.

Information

Caution: Each key is valid only once. A panelist cannot use the same registration key to enter the website several times and look around. If required, you can include a note about this in the invitation mail.

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.

Information

Write rights for pci_admin are required for accessing People → Panel configuration → PCI configuration.

Creating New PCI Codes

By clicking on the Create PCI code button you open the entry form for creating a new PCI code. The name, description and code must be entered. If you want the new code to be assigned as a default value for new panelists, the checkbox “Default value?” must be ticked. Complete the work process by clicking on Save.

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.

Information

Please note: When resetting the PCI codes for all panelists you will lose all information stored in these PCI values. As PCI values are created by summing up specific values over a long time period, the information will be irretrievably lost by a reset and can not be retrieved by a simple new calculation.

In contrast, you can change the PCI value of a specific panelist easily by using the detail view in the People → Panelists administration menu.

PCI Update

On theUpdate intervaltab you can define an interval of time for the calculation of the PCI index.

To do so, please proceed as follows:

Tick the checkbox “Enable automatic PCI calculation“.
Define the date and the time for the initial execution.
Select the interval type (hour, day) and the desired value. For example, interval type “day” and interval value “3”means that from the first day of execution onward there will be an update every three days.
Confirm by clicking on Save.

Executing a Manual PCI Update

You can execute a manual update of the PCI codes anytime. To do this select theUpdate PCI values nowbutton on thePCI codestab. The update will be executed after a confirmation window.

Panel-Tracking

The panel tracking feature allows you to track and measure the response behavior in panel and master data surveys. For example, you can track the number of invitations, completed surveys or sample memberships over time. This gives you data that can be very helpful for improving the quality of panels and answers. Tracking also helps you meet the requirements of the ESOMAR guidelines.

The functional scope in brief:

Various counter variables and ratio quantities are updated according to the panelists’ behavior. To facilitate reporting and analysis, ratios are also derived from the counter variables.
You can view or use the tracking data in various parts of the panel. For example, you can view the data for individual panelists, groups or the entire panel, use them in the grouping filter, or export them for evaluation.
For performance reasons, tracking data are only stored for 380 days. For large, complex panels, a further shortening of this interval may be reasonable: if necessary, please contact support.
The data are not displayed in real time but updated once a day. The time of update can be changed.
You can define the three tracking intervals yourself.
If necessary, you can deactivate the collection of tracking data for specific surveys via the field “Taken into account in tracking?” in project information. This can make sense e.g. if multiple participation is used. But please mind that the collection of tracking data will really be stopped and re-activation will not be possible without further ado.

Configuring the Tracking

You can modify the timing of the tracking update and the evaluation intervals according to the needs of your panel.

You can decide for yourself at what time the daily update of the tracking values is to be performed. Please mind that updating of the tracking values should preferably be done during phases of low traffic, i.e. at night. Therefore, the default update time is set to 00:00 GMT. If you are operating a panel in a different time zone, it may be advisable to change the update time setting accordingly.
The values collected in the panel tracking are shown for three intervals. By default, these are intervals of 4, 8, and 12 weeks.
If necessary, you can change these intervals. But please mind that it is not possible to define additional intervals.

Please proceed as follows:

Switch to the People → Panel configuration → Panel trackingmenu. To do so, you need read rights for “panel_config”.
This dialog indicates the time of the most recent update.
In the “Time of update” field, you can change the time of the daily update. The default time is set to 00:00 GMT. Please note that the setting will not be active before the next day.
You can change the intervals in the “Interval value” fields as necessary.
Click on Save to confirm the setting.

Panel Statuses

The most important attribute of the panelists is their panel status: It describes their current role and activity. In a standard panel, for example, the statuses used to describe the panelists are “admitted temporarily”, “active”, “inactive” or “deleted”. A candidate automatically gets the status “admitted temporarily” after registration. Upon completing the master data survey, he is assigned “active” status instead. The panel statuses are characteristics of the system variable “pstatus”. They are usually assigned automatically in the context of the central panel processes.

People allows you to customize the panel statuses to the processes in your panel:

In many panel processes you can control which panel statuses are to be assigned. For example, you can allow an "inactive" panelist to still log in.
There are additional user-defined statuses available which you can use for your panel, if required.
You can change the names of all statuses.
Any redundant statuses can be deactivated.
There are special statuses that are associated with special roles and access to special functions. For example, you can provide users checking the functionality of the panel with panelist accounts of “tester” status. With these accounts it is possible to participate in surveys repeatedly, among other things. Users responsible for moderating forums normally use accounts with “moderator” status.

Overview of the panel statuses

The table provides an overview of the panel statuses and their meanings in a normally configured standard panel.

Codes and characteristics of the “pstatus” variable:

Status name	Code of the “pstatus” variable	Meaning
Admitted temporarily	1	The prospective members have registered and are listed in the table in the Panelists administration → Candidates menu, but have not yet been fully admitted as panelists.
Active	2	The panelists are available for surveys. They are participating in panel activities.
Active (user-defined)	3	Used-defined
Inactive	4	The panelists cannot log into the panel and are blocked for surveys. But their data are still fully available. The blocking for surveys is realized by a change of disposition code: In all samples in which the inactivated panelists had disposition code 11 or 12 (i.e. they had not participated so far), they are assigned disposition code 13 instead.
Inactive (user-defined)	5	Used-defined
User-defined statuses 1 - 9	6-15	These panel statuses can be used to classify the panelists better, depending on the requirements of your panel. These statuses are not used in EFS Panel as it is configured when delivered: You can define the significance yourself. You can assign the user-defined statuses automatically or manually according to the instructions given above.
Deleted	8	If you delete panelists, they, or to be more exact the remaining rests of their anonymized data records, will be assigned this status. Deleted panelists are removed past recovery: You cannot access the data records anymore, the participant data are deleted completely. Only data which are needed to maintain the consistency of panel statistics and survey results and community posts are preserved.
Tester	16	This special status is used e.g. for the panelist accounts of users who check the functionality of a panel or a newly created survey before it is finally released.
Moderator	32	This special status is used e.g. for the panelist accounts of users responsible for forum moderation in Community panels.

Information

The list of panel statuses cannot be extended.

Configuring panel statuses

You can configure the panel statuses according to the needs of your panel in the People → Panel configuration → Panel status menu. The overview list all existing statuses along with the following information and editing options:

Label: You can change the names of the panel statuses in this column. Please note that the labels can be assigned in one language only.
Number of panelists: This column tells you how many panelists are currently assigned to a particular status. Thus you can easily determine which statuses are currently in use.
Activated: You can mark the user-defined panel statuses that are to be used in your panel by ticking the checkboxes in this column. After doing so, the user interfaces will be adjusted accordingly across the entire panel. Unused panel statuses will be hidden and thus cannot be inadvertently assigned to panelists.
- All panel statuses are initially activated.
- The default statuses of the panel cannot be deactivated.
- User-defined statuses that are currently assigned panelists cannot be deactivated, either.
- Please note that there may be automatic rules in your panel that were defined before deactivating any user-defined status: If these rules still apply they may continue assigning deactivated statuses.
Preselected in sampling: By ticking the checkboxes in this column, you define which statuses are usually to be preselected in sampling.

Information

Configuring the panel status requires write rights for “panel_status”.

Changing the panel status assignment in panel processes

Changes to the panel status are normally made automatically in the context of panel processes. In some processes you can control which statuses are to be assigned.

Required status for panel login: You can define with which status a panelist is permitted to log into the panel in the field “Panel login is possible for panelists with the following panel statuses” of the Website → Global configuration menu.
Required status for participation in panel surveys: You can define which panelists are allowed to participate in panel surveys in the field “Participation in panel surveys is possible for panelists with the following panel statuses” of the Website → Global configuration menu.
Required status for participation in master data surveys: You can define which panelists are allowed to participate in master data surveys in the field “Participation in master data surveys is possible for panelists with the following panel statuses” of the Website → Global configuration menu.
Status upon registration: The status assigned to panelists upon their registration is defined in the field “Panel status assigned during registration” of the function module “Registration form”. Default setting: “Admitted temporarily”.
Status after quitting membership: The status assigned to panelists who quit their membership is defined in the field “Panel status after quitting membership” of the function module “Quit membership form”. Default setting: “Inactive”. In older, migrated panels, you will find this setting option in the Website → {Selected language version} menu in the section “End of membership” of the Configuration tab.

Changing the panel status of individual panelists manually

You can change the status of an individual panelist or a group of selected panelists manually:

You can change the status of selected panelists by means of the drop-down list in Panelists administration.
You can assign a new status to an individual panelist in the detail view.

Capacity Filters

An important factor for the willingness to respond and for the quality of the answers is the capacity of the panelists: On the one hand, the number of surveys should not exceed anybody’s capacity, while on the other hand the intervals between surveys should not become too long so that the panelists will not lose their interest. The scheduling system of EFS, which is based on the familiar grouping filters, provides you with maximum flexibility:

Via a so-called capacity filter you specify which panelists are to be considered available for the sample draw, i.e. who has not yet exceeded their capacity.
When drawing samples, you can use the capacity filter to limit the basic set.
In an EFS Panel installation, you can create any number of capacity filters. Which capacity definition applies to a given project is specified by your selection of the appropriate capacity filter during the sampling procedure.

Information

Please mind that accuracy and up-to-dateness of the capacity filters will only be as good as the accuracy and up-to-dateness of the underlying data. If, for example, tracking data are used in the condition which are updated once a day, the filter results can be, at best, current to the day.

Creating Capacity Filters

The capacity filters are created and managed in the People → Panel configuration → Capacity filters menu.

The capacity filters are defined in the same manner as the already familiar grouping filters. This means you can use, among other things, the most important system data and all tracking variables.
Of particular importance when creating capacity filters is the possibility of performing date calculations.

Information

Write rights for panel_config are required for accessing People → Panel configuration → Capacity filters.

Using Capacity Filters

When drawing samples, you can use the capacity filter to limit the basic set.

Password Configuration

Under the Password configuration menu item of the panel configuration you define the 'design' of the passwords to be assigned for the module Portals by specifying both the minimum and the maximum password length, i.e. how many characters minimum and maximum can be used. You can also define the password policy by using the drop-down list to select what the password may contain:

No restrictions
Characters and numbers
Characters and either numbers or special charakters
Upper and lower case and numbers
Upper and lower case either numbers or special charakters

These settings only apply to the Portals module.

Topics

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