Every two years, a fresh recruitment sample is drawn from the population register by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) to address attrition from the original sample in 2007 and subsequent recruitment samples. The recruitment phase comprises several stages, starting from initial contact to becoming a registered and active LISS panel member.
In a recruitment phase, respondents who have indicated their agreement to participate in the panel during the recruitment interview (CAWI, CATI, CAPI or PAPI) receive a confirmation email and a letter with a web address and login code. Using the provided login code, they can confirm their willingness to participate and immediately start the first questionnaire, which is a general starter questionnaire for new panel members. At the end of this questionnaire, respondents are asked to read and agree to the LISS informed consent. They can confirm their agreement by ticking a checkbox. Only when respondents agree to the LISS informed consent they can become a LISS panel member. This confirmation and informed consent procedure, following the consent to participate given in the recruitment interview, ensures the multi-step consent process of each respondent to become a LISS panel member and participate in the online monthly panel surveys.
The LISS panel and the LISS Data Archive (LDA), operated by Centerdata, maintains all applicable rights related to the collection, preservation, access, and use of LISS panel data. Centerdata fully complies with Dutch and European legislation, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and adheres to the Netherlands Code of Conduct for Research Integrity issued by the Universities of the Netherlands (UNL, 2018). Processing and use of personal data is outlined in the Privacy statement of Centerdata.
The LISS infrastructure, including the panel, it’s data archive, the LISS Core Study and related ethical oversight, operates within a broader, externally funded research infrastructure framework supported by the Dutch Research Council (NWO). This includes its original establishment under the MESS project “An Advanced Multi-Disciplinary Facility for Measurement and Experimentation in the Social Sciences” (File number 176.010.2005.017), its current integration within the ODISSEI national data infrastructure “Open Data Infrastructure for Social Science and Economic Innovations” (File number 184.035.014), and its alignment with the broader SSHOC-NL initiative “Social Science and Humanities Open Cloud for the Netherlands” (File number 184.036.020), which aims to further develop secure, interoperable research infrastructure for the social sciences and humanities. These projects represent competitive, peer-reviewed funding awards that provide strategic support, governance, and sustainable infrastructure for high-quality social science research, including the longitudinal data collection and ethical review processes.
Ethical oversight in the LISS panel is therefore organized as a layered governance model, combining infrastructural governance, internal ethical screening, external ethics review where applicable, and legally grounded informed consent under the GDPR.
Centerdata values the privacy and integrity of LISS panel members, as well as the careful handling of research data collected through the LISS panel. Therefore, each questionnaire requested to be fielded to the panel undergoes an ethical review by Centerdata, focusing on language use, content, and data collection requests before being fielded.
If any questions are perceived as threatening, offensive, or very unpleasant by respondents, we reserve the right not to field these questions. Furthermore, questions that risk identifying panel members will not be fielded. The LISS panel is not used for commercial research, does not involve deception, and does not collect identifiable passive behavioral or digital trace data without explicit additional consent. The internal ethical review performed by Centerdata is separate from any ethical review conducted by an external Ethical Review Board. Researchers may apply for ethical approval from their own institution or faculty if required. Centerdata can provide support by answering questions and supplying documentation upon request.
In cases of (potential) medical research, researchers are advised to consult the CCMO website or their Ethical Review Board to determine whether a questionnaire falls within the scope or definition of medical research.
In compliance with the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), LISS participants explicitly provide informed consent for the use of collected data in scientific and policy-relevant research. Research projects and questionnaires that involve the collection of special categories of personal data require approval from Centerdata’s Data Protection Officer and Information Security Officer, following the internal “Privacy, Information Security, and Data Management Checklist,” before being fielded to the LISS panel.
Specific questions or remarks can be directed to info@lissdata.nl
