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 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 field these questions to panel members. Furthermore, questions that risk identifying panel members will also not be fielded. The LISS panel is not used for commercial research, does not involve deception, and does not collect passive behavioral or digital trace data without explicit additional consent. The internal reviewing 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 earlier on this page.
Moreover, research projects and questionnaires that collect (special) personal data also require approval from Centerdata’s 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.
Specific questions or remarks on ethics can be directed to info@lissdata.nl
