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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.
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 undergoes an internal review, focusing on both language use and content, before being fielded to the panel. If any questions can be perceived as threatening, offensive, or very unpleasant by respondents, we reserve the right not to present these questions to panel members. Furthermore, questions that risk identifying panel members will also not be presented. This internal review process is separate from an ethical review conducted by an (external) ethics committee.
Researchers who wish to field a questionnaire to the LISS panel can apply for ethical approval from their own institute or faculty if required. Centerdata can provide support by answering questions and providing documents upon request. It should be noted that ethical approval for questionnaire research among respondents aged 16 years or older is not legally required in the Netherlands, with the exception of medical scientific research, which necessitates medical ethical approval under the Dutch WMO. Additionally, in compliance with the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), LISS participants explicitly give informed consent for the use of the collected data in scientific and policy-relevant research, as described in the above informed consent section.
Moreover, research projects and questionnaires that collect (special) personal data also require approval from the Centerdata Data Protection Officer and Information Security Officer, following the internal ‘Privacy, Information Security, and Data Management checklist’ document, before being fielded to the LISS panel.