Panel Questions
- How do I join?
- How often will I be invited to take part in a survey?
- How often may I participate in any one survey?
- How will I know if there is a survey for me to complete?
- What's in it for me?
- How do I change / update my profile?
- I have forgotten my username and password - what do I do?
- Do I need to login more than once each time I visit?
- Do I need to login each time I visit the panel website?
Technical Questions
- Web browsers
- Operating systems
- Monitor resolutions
- I have registered but have not yet received a survey
- I am an AOL user, does your website support this?
- I am having problems with Hotmail. What could be the problem?
General Questions
- Sometimes surveys are closed after only a few hours. Why?
- Who reads the findings?
- Did you receive my survey?
- What happens to my personal information and the answers I give?
- How do I cancel my membership?
- What do I do if I need help?
Panel Questions
How do I join?
To join panel you will need to complete our registration survey. This will only take a couple of minutes. Once you've done this, your profile will be live and we will be able to send you surveys.
How often will I be invited to take part in a survey?
Once you have completed our registration survey we will invite you from time to time to participate in surveys. Under normal circumstances we will send you a survey no more than once per month. We know your time is valuable, so our surveys are short. They usually take a couple of minutes to complete. Very occasionally they might be a little longer than this. To participate, click on the link provided in the email and follow the instructions.
How often may I participate in any one survey?
We treat panel as professional market research. Therefore our surveys are by invitation only and to ensure the highest standards of professional research you can complete any given survey only once.
How will I know if there is a survey for me to complete?
We will send you an email invitation with a link to a survey. Under normal circumstances we will not contact you more than once per month. You are under no obligation to participate in any survey. However, if after several attempts you do not participate in any surveys, we may consider you an inactive member.
What's in it for me?
The Panel is an opportunity to have your say and ultimately contribute to the future development of BBC Magazines and websites. Your feedback from the surveys will go towards making real improvements in magazines and websites that we make and the service that we provide.
How do I change / update my profile?
Make sure you are logged in, click on 'My Profile', make the amends and then click on 'save changes'
I have forgotten my username and password - what do I do?
Click on the "Forgotten Password" link next to the log in.
Do I need to login more than once each time I visit?
No, you just need to log in once when you visit the site. You will be automatically logged out after 20 minutes of inactivity so if you leave the page open for a while and come back you may need to log in again.
Do I need to login each time I visit the panel website?
Yes, you do if you want to complete surveys or view the results of the previous surveys.
Technical Questions
What are the site requirements when visiting the panel website?
Web browsers
The following browsers have been tested and found to show no serious problems: Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 and 6.0, Firefox, Netscape 6+ and Safari.
Operating systems
The following operating systems have been tested and found to show no serious problems: Windows 95, 98, 2000, XP, Mac OS X, Linux/KDE
Monitor resolutions
We recommend you have a screen resolution of at least 800x600.
I have registered but have not yet received a survey
We don't send every survey out to every panelist. This is to avoid overloading your inbox. Currently, we only send surveys out to 80% of our Panel and we target different surveys to specific types of customers. You can log in whenever you like to complete a Topic or Feature Review Survey.
I am an AOL user, does your website support this?
Yes, there should be no problem accessing the site through AOL, either with AOL's integrated browser or using a separate standalone browser such as Internet Explorer or Firefox.
I am having problems with Hotmail. What could be the problem?
For users that are still having problems you may wish to try the following options.
- Use an alternative browser:
Open a new browser, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. Highlight the link and copy and paste it into the address field of the new browser window. - Use an alternative mail application:
Programs such as Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express can be set up to download and read your Hotmail accounts. Please follow the step-by-step instructions as provided by the software.
General Questions
Sometimes surveys are closed after only a few hours. Why?
On rare occasions we conduct surveys which require results virtually immediately. This means we have only a few hours to gather responses from you.
Who reads the findings?
The findings of the Feature Review Surveys are forwarded directly to the Editors of the Magazines and then all surveys results (for ad-hoc, Topic and feature review) are published on the website for you to see.
Did you receive my survey?
If you received a "Thank you" message after you clicked the "Finish" button at the end of the survey, your survey data was received with no difficulties.
What happens to my personal information and the answers I give?
You can be assured that all the survey information you give us will remain anonymous and completely confidential at all times. We will not sell your data on to third parties. For details, please see our privacy statement.
How do I cancel my membership?
As a Panel member, you will receive our email invitations to complete surveys. If you change your mind, when you receive an email invitation you can click the hyperlink at the bottom of the email and you will no longer receive survey invitations. Unsubscribe requests take effect immediately.
What do I do if I need help?
If you experience a technical problem, please email us at technical@edigitalresearch.com.