Survey and panel data captures what people and businesses say: opinions, intentions, awareness and self-reported behavior. Insights teams, product managers, consultants, academics and public bodies buy existing survey datasets for benchmarks, or commission new surveys through access to research panels.
Typical fields
- Respondent ID (pseudonymous) and survey wave
- Question text, answer options and response
- Demographic profile and weight
- Country, language and fieldwork dates
- Quality flags such as speeding or failed attention checks
Sources and collection
Survey data is collected online from opt-in panels, by phone, face to face, or through intercepts on websites and apps. Syndicated surveys run on a schedule and are sold to many buyers, while custom surveys are designed for one buyer. Quality depends on panel recruitment, fraud controls, questionnaire design and weighting to population benchmarks.
Delivery and pricing
Syndicated data is delivered as tables, dashboards or respondent-level files. Custom surveys are usually priced per completed interview, driven by the incidence of the target audience, questionnaire length and country; business and specialist audiences cost much more than general consumers. Panel access can also be bought as a service.
Before you buy
- Read the exact question wording and answer options.
- Check fieldwork dates, sample sizes and the methodology statement.
- Ask about fraud and bot detection and the share of responses removed.
- Confirm how data is weighted and to which benchmarks.
- Check that the licence allows publishing results if you plan to.