Will UWF or the Listener Group sell the data collected using the panel?
Absolutely not! This is a volunteer effort on the part of UWF and the Listener Group. This is not a commercial panel.

How do you become a member of the panel? You cannot "join" the panel because panel members are selected using a random sampling system. Telephone numbers are randomly generated and these numbers are called by the Listener Group. Invitations are then made to join. This process is important in ensuring that the panel is representative of the two-county MSA.

How often are panel members surveyed? Panel members are contacted no more than once a month.

Will information gathered on the panel be used for telemarketing or any other purpose? Absolutely not! No panel member data are shared by anyone outside of the panel management group at UWF and the Listener Group.

How private is the information gathered by the panel? While panel managers must have the panel member's telephone number (or email address) in order to contact the panel member, no other information is known about the identity of the panel member except for the panel member's first name. The first name is gathered simply to allow the survey to be directed to the correct member of the household. Any information reported by the panel member is never associated with the member's telephone number. Rather, data will be reported in the aggregate and/or reported by broad demographic categories such as by income group, zip code, or county of residence.

Are panel members paid for participating? As a rule, no. This is a volunteer effort on the part of those managing the panel as well as the panel members themselves. However, from time to time, we secure "rewards" of different types (i.e. free meal coupons, etc.) to reward our panel members.

How are panel members notified that it is time to complete a survey request? About once a month, those panel members who do not have Internet access/email will be called by someone from the Listener Group. While the topics and lengths of surveys will vary, the surveys are kept as short as possible.

For those having Internet/email access, they will receive an email about once a month with a "clickable" Internet address. Once they go to the site, they will find the survey to complete online.

What kinds of questions will panel members be asked? Some of the questions will be asked repeatedly. For example, panel members may be asked about how they feel about the local economic condition on a regular basis, or what they think about the quality of the water in our region. By asking these questions over and over, we can establish a trend that will allow us to monitor changes in these important attitudes and beliefs.

Other questions will be asked only once. These questions will come primarily from two sources. First, as issues arise that are important to our area, we will attempt to ask appropriate questions: Should the School Board require uniforms? Should the County Commission build more parks and recreational areas? Second, panel members may receive questions from UWF faculty who are trying to increase the knowledge in their respective discipline. A Professor of Finance may ask you questions about how you shopped for a home mortgage, life insurance, or health care insurance. A Professor of Management may ask you your opinions of a flexible work schedule or how you feel about your work. A Professor of Marketing may ask you questions about whether or not you saw a new ad on TV and if you recall the name of the advertised product. Questions will vary by research topic.

Regardless of the questions asked, panel members can be assured that their answers are not only confidential but anonymous! Panel managers do not know who the panel members are. We have panel members' telephone numbers and first names only. (First names are necessary so that we may ask for the correct household member when we call). No attempts will ever be made to link other information identifying a panel member to a telephone number. Panel members should feel at ease in answering questions in an open and forthright manner.