Questions
Here are answers to the questions asked most often by members and prospective members of the Harris Poll Online.
Membership Basics
How do I become a member of the Harris Poll Online panel?
Select "Join Our Panel" and fill out the registration form.
How did I become a member of the Harris Poll Online?
You may have become a member of the Harris Poll Online in one of several ways:
- By registering directly with us through our website; or
- By opting in to participate in the Harris Poll Online as a result of an offering made in conjunction with one of our many online partners.
If you were signed up in error or wish to be excluded from future Harris Poll Online mailings, you may unsubscribe.
If you have any other concerns or questions, please visit our Survey Help Desk.
In every email invitation, we identify ourselves in the header, explain how we received your email address, and describe how you can unsubscribe. We do not "spam" or send unsolicited commercial email to our panel members.
Who is in the Harris Poll Online panel?
Our panel consists of a diverse cross-section of people residing in the United States, as well as in over 200 countries around the world.
Do I have to pay to be a member of the Harris Poll Online panel?
No. Membership and access to select Harris Poll Online surveys and results are free of charge.
How do I benefit from participating in surveys?
See the Rewards section to learn more about the various rewards of being a member of the Harris Poll Online panel.
How do I obtain a password?
When you register directly with us, you are required to enter a password. Please select a password that you can remember, but that is known only to you.
You can always Update Your Account from our Members Home section.
I lost my password. Is there a way to retrieve it?
If you can't remember your password, select "Password Reminder" from our Login Page. Your password will then be sent to your email address.
How do I update or change my personal information?
You may update or modify your registration information by selecting Update Your Account from our Members Home section.
What happens if someone else in my household signs up with the same email address?
Only one person per household can be registered as a member of the Harris Poll Online as stated in our Terms Of Use agreement.
How do I unsubscribe from the Harris Poll Online?
We appreciate your participation in the Harris Poll Online and encourage you to remain part of our community. However, if you would like to unsubscribe from the Harris Poll Online at any time, you may do so.
Go back to Topic Areas
Panel Member Concerns
Does anyone have access to my personal information?
Protecting your privacy is of the utmost importance to us. We employ the most sophisticated technology to protect your personal information, and we will never release your information without your permission. For more detailed information, please review our Privacy Policy.
What if I'm not getting any surveys?
If you haven't done so already, please add us to your safe list. ISP's change their filters often which may cause your survey invitation to end up in your junk email folder or it may be blocked completely. It's a good idea to check your subfolders to make sure you don't miss any of our survey invitations.
I received a letter or saw a classified ad for mystery shopping or a quality assurance study that said Harris/Decima was hosting the study. Is this legitimate?
Please disregard letters and classified advertisements that promise fast cash and free gifts from Harris/Decima in exchange for performing mystery shopping or quality assurance studies. These letters and classified advertisements are scams!
Harris/Decima never conducts mystery shopping or quality assurance studies that require you to cash checks or wire us money.
Please immediately call us at 1-800-600-2493 if you are contacted by someone claiming to be a representative of Harris/Decima regarding an offer to receive cash for depositing a check and/or wiring us money in connection with a mystery shopping or quality assurance study. Do not deposit the check into your bank account or wire money.
Please visit the website of the Mystery Shopping Providers Association in order to find further information about these scams and steps you should take to avoid becoming a victim of these scams. Further, the Federal Trade Commission has issued a warning about these scams.
Go back to Topic Areas
Participation in Surveys
How do I participate in research surveys?
Generally, we invite a randomly-selected portion of the Harris Poll Online panel to participate in a survey. We send you an email invitation that describes the survey and provides you with a link to the survey so that only you can take the survey.
How many emails can I expect to receive from the Harris Poll Online?
As a general matter of policy, Harris Poll Online panel members receive between three and four invitations to unique surveys on general topics each month. Members may, however, receive one to two reminder invitations for each survey.
Some Harris Poll Online members with special interests (e.g., movies, product testing, and elections/political issues) or special characteristics (e.g., chronic illness sufferers) have agreed, in response to an invitation from the Harris Poll Online, to take surveys specifically tailored to their interests. These members may sometimes receive an additional one to two surveys per month.
We may also contact you for the following reasons:
- To confirm your acceptance of a prize or incentive
- To invite you to review results from a recently completed survey
- To tell you about exciting, new services or information
How soon after registering can I take my first survey?
Shortly after you register, you can participate in an introductory survey. The purpose of this survey is to give you a sample of questions that you may be asked in future Harris Poll Online surveys.
Why do you ask personal information in your survey?
We ask questions about your demographics, interests, employment, purchasing behaviors, and online usage to help us develop general trends about our panel. This information is used to conduct statistical analyses so we can ensure that our sample of respondents is representative of the general population. We also use this information to subdivide the panel into special interest groups and to send you surveys that are more pertinent to your interests and characteristics.
What is a "subpanel" and how do I sign up for one?
A subpanel is a subset of our members who share certain interests or circumstances (e.g., allergy sufferers, teachers), and in response to one or more screening questions, have qualified and agreed to participate in a series of surveys on a particular topic. The invitations for our subpanels are sent to a random selection of our database population, as they become available.
Do I have to participate every time I am invited to take a survey?
We encourage you to take a survey whenever you receive an invitation. We value each panel member's opinion. Choosing not to participate in a survey will not affect your membership.
How do I know if a survey is offering an incentive or sweepstakes?
The email invitation to a survey will mention if any incentive or sweepstakes is available for participation in that survey. A link to the sweepstakes rules page can be found in the invitation, as well as on the last page of the survey.
Are people residing outside the United States eligible to participate in any sweepstakes that is offered?
Yes. We are continuously investigating international laws regarding sweepstakes rules and eligibility. As of now, HIstakes is now open to Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the U.K., and the U.S. Many other countries have their own rules and regulations regarding sweepstakes which make them ineligible to participate in our HIstakes, however we are still in the process of researching many others.
How long do surveys take to complete?
Our surveys take anywhere from 5 to 25 minutes. We try to keep the surveys to a maximum of 15 to 20 minutes. This time may vary depending on the speed of your Internet connection or browser.
What happens if I am in the middle of a survey and either do not have time to finish or lose my connection to the survey?
If you did not complete the survey, you can finish at a later time. Simply enter as you did originally, using the same unique URL. You can resume taking the survey where you left off. Some surveys are only available for a few days. In cases where the survey fielding has ended, you will be notified when you try to enter the survey.
Besides online surveys, what other types of research methods does Harris Interactive, the company behind the Harris Poll Online, use?
Harris Interactive conducts research using a variety of methods, ranging from online surveys and focus groups (chat room style or bulletin board style), telephone and direct mail to in person focus groups and personal interviews. Currently, we use the Harris Poll Online to conduct surveys via the Internet for:
- Added convenience to respondents.
- Fast turnaround.
- Identifying potential panel members for focus groups, both online and in person.
Who do I contact if I have questions or comments about a survey?
Our Survey Help Desk will be very happy to answer any questions you may have and they will listen to any suggestions or comments. Questions or comments about the design or content of specific surveys will then be forwarded to that survey's project manager. We value your feedback, as we continually try to improve the quality of our surveys and your survey-taking experience. We invite you to visit the Survey Help Desk and share your feedback.
Go back to Topic Areas
HIpointsSM
What are HIpoints and how do I earn them?
In appreciation for your participation in our surveys, we will award you HIpoints every time you complete select surveys that offer HIpoints. Once you've accumulated enough HIpoints, you may redeem them for rewards.
How do I redeem my HIpoints?
- Log in to the HIpoints website and then select "Reward Catalog" button from the top navigation menu.
- Browse the rewards using the "Categories" list or the drop-down list of reward by point value.
- As you hover your mouse over each item, you will be able to see a brief description of the item.
- Once you select an item, enter the quantity you would like to redeem for, then click “Add to Cart.”
- If the item was successfully added to your cart, you will see a message along the top of the screen that says, “Item(s) has been added to cart.”
- Continue browsing and add additional items to your cart if you wish.
- Once you are ready to redeem, click the “checkout” link at the top right-hand corner of your screen.
- Enter your Shipping Information on the left-hand side of the screen, then click “Redeem.” You will receive a pop-up message that asks, “Are you sure you want to purchase?” Click OK.
- If the redemption was successful, you will receive a message that says “Thank you for your purchase.”
Do I have to redeem my HIpoints all at once?
You control how and when you redeem your HIpoints. You can choose to redeem all of your HIpoints, just some of your HIpoints, or you can continue to accumulate them for later use.
Do I have to pay anything to receive my reward(s)?
All costs for the rewards (including shipping and handling) are covered by Harris Poll Online. There are no hidden costs. You do not have to pay anything to receive your rewards! Please note, however, that panel members are responsible for shipping charges on merchandise ordered online via gift card redemptions.
How old do I have to be to participate in HIpoints?
Harris Poll Online panel members who are 13 years of age or older are eligible to participate in HIpoints.
From what countries are panel members eligible to participate?
Panel members that are legal residents of all countries approved for shipping from the U.S. are eligible to participate. Currently we cannot ship to Afghanistan, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, or Syria.
Go back to Topic Areas
Technical Challenges
What computer technology do I need to participate in surveys?
For most of our surveys, all you need is an Internet connection. Occasionally, our surveys require additional technology that you may or may not possess, such as a sound card. In those cases, the survey invitation will specify any technology requirements. If your computer lacks the required technology, feel free to wait to take part in a future study that does not require these features.
For your convenience, here are links to useful, free software to download:
Internet Explorer
Media Player
RealPlayer
How do I address any technical problems I encounter while taking a survey?
Unfortunately, we occasionally experience technical problems with our servers or surveys. From time to time, our servers may become overloaded when too many people try to access a survey at the same time. If you can't access a survey or it takes too long to complete a particular survey, you can always exit and finish the survey at a later time.
If you are experiencing a technical problem, please feel free to contact the Survey Help Desk. The Survey Help Desk will determine what the problem is and help you access the survey, or, at least, explain what is happening.
Once I am done taking a survey, how do I get back onto the Internet?
Once you have clicked on the forward button one last time and reached our "Thank you" page, you can follow any of the links on that page to Harris Poll Online-related sites. Or, you can simply use one of your bookmarks or type in a URL to go to another site on the Internet.
Why am I not getting survey invitations? Why am I only getting reminders?
To combat SPAM, many mail servers and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) use high-tech filtering devices to ensure that you receive as little or no SPAM as possible. We know how annoying SPAM can be, and we support efforts made to reduce SPAM. However, some legitimate email that you want to receive, like our survey invitations, may be mistakenly flagged as SPAM and never make it to your mailbox.
To make sure you continue to receive survey invitations, please add HarrisPoll@hpolsurveys.com to your list of trusted senders.