A website might not get listed on SurveyPolice because it falls into one of the following categories:
Online survey directories
Some websites will either ask for a fee to be paid (usually between $20-$50) to access a listing of online survey panels, though some will provide this information for free, usually after a user provides their personal information and becomes a “member”. SurveyPolice hosts a massive list of online survey panels which are all free to join and accessible by everyone, even non-members. All the survey panels listed on our website are run by legitimate market research companies, so there’s no second guessing the legitimacy of a survey panel, unlike with directories. Again, directory websites are not run by market research companies and therefore have no place on SurveyPolice.
Pseudo online survey websites
Similar to the point above, some websites disguise themselves as legitimate online survey panels but in reality, are pseudo online survey websites. These types of websites are truly rubbish, as they try to trick users into believing they are signing up to take online surveys, when they are actually signing up to have their personal information sold. Find out how to identify these types of websites by reading our article on pseudo online survey websites.
Websites with fuzzy details
Some online survey panel websites we come across are often so dated, we wonder if the panel is still operating at all. Whether it’s old copyright notices, a missing social media presence, broken links and images, or outdated information, some survey panel websites are clearly not active anymore.
Some websites also provide limited or no company contact information, which goes against our rule about providing transparency when operating an online survey panel (see below). Similarly, when it is impossible to figure out who actually runs a survey panel, we will not list it. We do a number of background checks in order to figure out the ownership of a survey panel (and we will list the research company operating it under the contact info of a panel listed on our website) but if our digging yields unclear results, we won’t list it on SurveyPolice.
Illegitimate websites
We might dub a website as illegitimate due to a number of reasons: missing or incomplete contact information, missing privacy policy of terms of use agreement (users should know how their personal information is used!), members being asked to join other survey panels or sign up for “offers” after joining, a fee is asked to be paid, etc.
Undiscovered panels
If you know of a legitimate survey panel not listed on SurveyPolice, please let us know! Although we do regularly scour the internet for fresh survey panels to share with you, we can’t find them all without a bit of help. Whether you’re a member of panel not listed on our website, have found a new one by accident, or are operating a panel yourself, please tell us about it!