Four of the studies reviewed for this paper used such an approach although the researchers did not identify their results in terms of panel reliability per se. Klenosky, David B. and Arno J. Rethans (1988), "The Formation of Consumer Choice Sets: A Longitudinal Investigation at the Product Class Level," Proceedings, Association for Consumer Research, Vol. The recording accuracy issue has been addressed in several studies, notably Sudman (1964, 1964b), Wind and Lerner (1979), and Stanton and Tucci (1982). The Panel Members will participate in on-campus interviews and may be asked to participate in reference checking. With the exception of the last three variables, each represents a major dimension of panel structure and as such can influence results obtained, particularly measures of effect. As an operational concept, reliability has two major and distinct meanings: (1) an index of sampling-error variance and (2) an index of measurement or response-error variance. Even without these problems some panels per se may not be representative of any particular population, although it is possible to develop representative samples from the panel. The intent of the present exposition is not to criticize past work using panels for consumer research. Additionally, researchers are able to build rich, deep profiles about each panel member over time, which enables more targeted and personalized research. The only thing worse than a dull speech is a dull panel discussion, where the misery is multiplied by the number of bad panelists. There are obvious characteristics all performing teams share, from adaptability and strong communication to empathy and mutual respect. From these sources, 165 studies relating to and/or using panels were identified. By including all these studies, there is some risk of "double-counting" in that authors who measured reliability in one reported study will report reliability in the second. No panel member can take more than two surveys per month (once a panelist takes a survey, he/she is excluded for two weeks from all other samples). Bearden, William O. and Jesse E. Teel (1983), "Selected Determinants of Consumer Satisfaction and Complaint Reports," Journal of Marketing Research, 20 (February), 21-28. Some universities also maintain consumer panels to obtain research data and to generate revenues by providing data to others. Burnett, John J. and Julie Baker (1989), "The Robert-Worezel Hierarchical Model: An Extension Through Methodological and Variable Delineation Considerations," Proceedings, Educators' Conference of American Marketing Association, 265. The panel was used as the source of a preexisting sample, as a convenient sampling frame. What reliability issues are important in panel research? But since panel conditioning affects the validity of measurement rather than its reliability, it is not addressed in this paper. Fox, Santa Clara University, U.S.A. Gerald Albaum, University of Oregon, U.S.A. Sujata Ramnarayan, University of Oregon, U.S.A. [The authors thank M. Venkatesan, University of Rhode Island, for his helpful comments on earlier drafts of the paper.] We will present evidence that reliability and related measurement issues have not received their due attention in connection with most consumer panel studies. The data in this study consist of published studies of substantive aspects of consumer behavior. In addition, research designs with two observations are usually inadequate for the study of individual growth and individual differences in growth; at best, two-wave designs permit studying individual differences in change or some type of average rate of change (Rogosa 1987, p. 9). But since 12 major sources were examined, the articles and papers included in the investigation can be presumed to constitute a representative and comprehensive sampling of the relevant literature during the 1975-1991 period. Over 50 percent acquired data from the same respondents on at least four occasions. A second approach involves a longer time for assessment. Such so-called "research panels" can play a vital role in investigating the reliability of the panel technique and showing how the efficiency of panel operations can be improved (Ferber and Lannom 1980). Some persons interviewed at the first time may be unable or unwilling to be interviewed later on. 4. This body of work can be described under three principal headings: research on the structure and operation of a panel; non-longitudinal research which happens to draw one or more samples from an existing panel; and longitudinal research using data collected from a panel. The following issues are addressed: 2. There’s often one person who “leads” the interview, though all who are present are important. Since the publications reviewed are the major outlets for publication of consumer behavior research, they provide a relatively unbiased perspective on the nature and status of consumer behavior research using the panel approach during that period. Klenosky, David B. and Arno J. Rethans (1988), "The Formation of Consumer Choice Sets: A Longitudinal Investigation at the Product Class Level," Proceedings, Association for Consumer Research, Vol. For purposes of a meta-analysis, the researcher looks for commonCor comparableCmeasures in each study. of its panel members. Since the publications reviewed are the major outlets for publication of consumer behavior research, they provide a relatively unbiased perspective on the nature and status of consumer behavior research using the panel approach during that period. Rather, the objective has been to describe the state of practice in the use of the panel approach, with specific mention of the use and reporting of reliability. Kent B. Monroe, Ann Arbor, MI: Association for Consumer Research, 238-244. Cook, Thomas D. and Donald T. Campbell (1979), Quasi-Experimentation: Design and Analysis Issues for Field Settings, Chicago, IL: Rand McNally. At the present time panel studies are conducted by more than two dozen major commercial consumer panel organizations which operate in one or more countries. One result of this investigation is an assessment of the state of the use of panel approach in published consumer behavior studies. Panel Data Set B, on the other hand, would be considered an unbalanced panel as data does not exist for each person each year. But where there is no experimental manipulation, the measurement and interpretation of changes observed in successive waves of consumer panel data can be more problematic. ( 1973 ), `` Errors: Nonsampling Errors, '' in International Encyclopedia of the use of behavior... Met all three criteria by a “ moderator ” who guides the method. 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