23rd March 2011 (9.30am - 4:30pm) 

Web access panels or opt-in panels have been popular since the widespread adoption of browser-based Internet access. Most of these are based on non-probability recruitment methods. The goal is typically to gather a very large and diverse pool of volunteers, from which selected groups of panel members can be invited to specific surveys. While widely used by market researchers, such panels are also popular among academics and non-profit researchers. However, a growing number of recent studies have raised questions about the utility of these panels for the range of purposes to which they are put. This course will present an overview of the different approaches to Web access panels, with a focus on the users of such panels. The course will review the literature and present evidence on the advantages and disadvantages of using such panels for research, relative to using alternative approaches to survey data collection. Controversies regarding the inferential value or limits of such panels will be reviewed.