ACTIVE PANEL MEMBER

"A term describing the total number of panelists within an online panel that meet a certain level of activity or involvement with that panel. There is currently no universally accepted definition of "active panelist." The term "active panelist" is widely considered to be more meaningful than "total number of panelists." This is because many panelists over time become disengaged, stop participating, or attrite themselves from panel membership. The number of total panelists in an online panel may include members who are no longer likely to participate if given a survey invitation. Thus, the total number of panelists may be a poor reflection of those people who are available and likely to complete a survey. Conversely, the number of active panelists reflects those people in an online panel who can be said to demonstrate some level of activity, suggesting that they may consider and agree to a survey request. According to the ISO (www.iso.org) definition, an active panelist is a panel member who has participated in at least one survey if requested, or has updated his/her profile data, or has registered to join the panel, within the last 12 months. For a more reliable estimate of feasibility, ACE recommends defining an active panelist as a panel member who has participated in at least one survey if requested, or has updated his/her profile data, or has registered to join the panel, within the last 6 months."