Other projects in the CentERpanel

Each year, about 50 questionnaires are submitted to the CentERpanel. Here’s a sample of different kinds of projects.

Pilot study in preparation of large-scale survey

The CentERpanel is eminently suited to testing questionnaires that will be submitted on a large scale. Panel members can be asked to express their views on the clarity of the questions, the length of the questionnaire, and the ease with which questions can be completed. Panel members are invited to make suggestions for question improvement. The results of such a pilot study also indicate which questions may be deleted, such as those to which all respondents give the same answer.

Measuring changes

Tilburg University: smoking and drinking habits
Repeating surveys helps us understand changes. Smoking and drinking habits, for instance, were measured at the same point in the years 2003, 2005, and 2007. One group of respondents participates in several measurements.

Behaviour and knowledge

The Netherlands Nutrition Centre: eating habits and people’s awareness of the relation between diet and health
The questions were submitted in two batches: first a questionnaire on eating habits, followed, some time later, by another on people’s awareness of the influence of diet on health.

Monitoring

CentERdata: health monitor
Every two months since 2002, CentERdata has submitted a health monitor. By way of time-series analysis, these data can help us understand how people’s health perceptions develop. The data can also serve as background variables.

Policy preparation

Netspar: pension schemes
Changes in the pension system are a hot topic. It is important for scholars and policymakers to know how citizens feel about the proposed schemes and whether their views change in the course of time.

Experiments

There are many possibilities in the field of experiments: different groups may be given different sets of questions; random figures may be read into the questionnaire; calculations can be performed in the questionnaire.

Developing or validating scales

SCP: styles of upbringing
Scales are often developed and validated among students. The CentERpanel holds out the opportunity of developing or validating scales among a representative sample of the Dutch population.

Knowledge and opinion

De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB): the transparency of the European Central Bank (ECB)
When people are asked for their opinions, it is also important to know to what degree they are informed about different aspects of a particular topic. If people know little about a topic, their opinion is probably unsteady and dependent on the context in which the question is asked.

Are you interested in submitting a survey to the CentERpanel? Please contact Corrie Vis (head of Survey Research dept.)