This article provides a comprehensive guide on efficient panelist management using the People module in EFS. It covers building a panel, managing master data, creating groups, and inviting panelists to surveys.

Building a Panel

You can find the People module with its numerous menu items in the top module selection bar of EFS.

First of all, you need to fill your panel with panelists who are willing to provide information. In the first step, we would therefore like to show you how panelists can enter your panel. There are several ways of entry: You can, for example, create panelists manually and also import an entire list of panelists into the panelist administration. Alternatively, panelists can also register for your panel via portals or websites that you have created using the Portals and Website modules, or via an offline campaign. In the following, we will show you how to import several panelists into the panelist administration at the same time.

Importing Panelists

To import several panelists into your panel at the same time, proceed as follows:

• On the EFS start page, select the People module.
• Then select the Panelist administration menu item from the menu on the left-hand side.
• Click on the Import panelists button.
• The Import page opens. At the top of the page, under Upload file, click on Download import template.
• Open the downloaded csv file and fill it out. You do not have to fill in all fields, but the following fields are mandatory: u_passwd (password), u_firstname (first name), u_name (last name), u_email (e-mail address). Save the file. We will enter 3 different panelists as an example.

• Then click on the Choose file button on the Import page, and select the file you have just filled out.
• Retain the other default settings in the Upload file area.
• In the Special parameters area, keep the standard setting Default for Way of entry.
• If you have already set up a specific group of panelists to which your newly imported panelists should be added, you can select the corresponding group category and the desired group. Under “Creating a New Group” below, we will show you how to create such a group.
• For Set imported panelists to the following panel status retain the default setting Admitted temporarily. This indicates that panelists have been temporarily added, but are not yet active.
• Under Language version, select the desired language version or keep the default setting.
• For Profile visibility, specify which information about the panelist should be displayed in their public profile on a panel website or in a portal. By default, only Account name is preselected.
• Click on Send file.
• On the page that is now displayed, the participant data is assigned to the corresponding participant variables. As you have used the recommended import template, you can simply click on Save allocation at the bottom of the page.
• Switch to the Master data tab, and click on Save allocation at the bottom of the page and then on the Proceed to preview button.
• A preview of the data to be imported is displayed. If you have filled in all the fields of the import file and the assignment to the variables has been made correctly, a green traffic light symbol is displayed on the left-hand side under Status. If errors have occurred, a red traffic light symbol is displayed, and the data cannot be imported until the errors have been fixed. If an orange traffic light symbol is displayed, the import file contains invalid values or empty fields (see example below). However, the listed panelist data can still be imported. To finally confirm the import and import the listed panelists, click on the Import button at the bottom right.

Note: You might have to scroll to the right to be able to see the Import button.

---

Master Data

Your panel now contains 3 panelists for whom the personal data you entered in the import file has been saved, as well as certain system data such as the way of entry into the panel or the panel status. Just as important, or perhaps even more important for your panel, is the so-called master data. These are basic panelist characteristics defined by the panel administrator, which are stored independently of the project and are permanently available for evaluation or the creation of sub-panels (“groups”), for example. In the following, we will lead you through the creation of this master data in the People module and show you how you can use a master data survey to gather and store information on the master data from your panelists.

Creating New Master Data

First, of course, you need to think about which master data makes sense for your use case. As an example, we will create one master data record in which the information as to whether a panelist owns a car or not is stored. To do this, follow the steps below:

• In the People module, select the Master data menu item from the menu on the left-hand side.
• Click on Create master data.

• Enter the name of the variable in the Variable name field. It should begin with “m_” or “md_” and be a maximum of 20 characters long. As an example, we create the master data record “md_car”.
• Enter the name of your master data record in the Title field. In our case: “Car owner”.
• Select Integer (-128 to 127) as the type.
• By default, only the option (default), to which all master data is assigned, is available as a category. If you would like to create further categories and sort your master data in these categories,.
• Keep the default settings for the other two options.
• Click on Create.
• The newly created master data record is now displayed in the list of master data.
• Select it by clicking on the link under Variable or Title.
• Under Answer categories, click on the Edit answer categories button.
• Enter the value 1 under Code and the category Yes under Answer categories.
• Click on Save.
• Enter the value 2 in the new empty field under Code and the category No under Answer categories.
• Click on Save again.
• Now click on Back to master data overview.

Your new master data record “md_car” is displayed in the list of master data. In practice, you will of course create significantly more master data records for your panel. The master data record “md_car” should only serve as an example. Further information on the topic of master data, including details on the mass import of master data, can be found here.

Creating a Master Data Survey

Now that you have imported panelists into your panel and created a master data record, you can set up a master data survey to gather and save information on this master data. As an example, we will create a master data survey with one question, which we will then link to the master data record we created in the previous step.

• Create a new survey project of the type Master data survey in the EFS Projects module. If you need help creating a survey project, you can find helpful tips in our step-by-step guide “How-to: My first survey” and a comprehensive description of the Projects module in our online documentation.
• Open the project you have just created and then select Questionnaire Editor from the menu on the left-hand side.
• First create a new page by clicking on + Page. Then click on the new page.
• Create a new question on the page by clicking on + New question. For our example, we select the question type 111 Single response list (vertical).
• Enter the question text below and the corresponding answer options.

Your new master data survey now contains a question in which participants can indicate whether or not they own a car. The associated survey variable therefore contains two values – “Yes” and “No”. These match the values of the master data variable “md_car” created in the previous step.

Allocating Master Data

We would now like to assign our master data record “md_car” to the question we have just created. In that way, the answers participants give to the question are saved in the master data record. To do this, proceed as follows:

• Open the survey menu and click on the link Master data allocation.
• The question that we have created for our master data survey is now displayed in the overview of master data allocations.
• Click on the pencil icon on the far right of the row.
• From the Allocation to master data variable drop-down menu on the far right, select the master data record “md_car:Car owner”.
• Click on Save.
• The green paperclip symbol indicates that the master data record has been correctly assigned to the question and that the values of the survey variables and of the master data record match.

---

Building Groups

For greater clarity and a more accurate selection of participants for a particular survey, panelists are usually divided into groups – so-called subpanels. This division can even be automated with the help of grouping filters. In the following, we will show you how to create a new group in the People module, configure a grouping filter based on the previously created master data record and finally define update rules for the new group.

Creating a New Group

Follow the steps below to create a new group:

• Open the People module.
• Select the Groups menu item from the menu on the left-hand side.
• Click on the Create group button.
• Select default as the category.
• Enter a name for the new group under Internal group title. In our case, we choose the name “Car owner”, as the group should contain panelists owning a car.
• Enter a description, if required.
• Click on Create group.

Applying a Grouping Filter

Our newly created group is still empty. We will now create a grouping filter that defines the conditions under which a panelist will be assigned to the “Car owner” group – namely, when they indicate that they own a car in the master data survey. To do this, proceed as follows:

• Select the Grouping filters menu item from the menu on the left.
• Click on Create filter condition.
  • 

• Enter a name for your grouping filter. In our case: “Car”.
• If necessary, enter a filter description.
• In the Filter condition area, select your master data variable “md_car” from the Variable drop-down menu.
• From the Condition drop-down menu, select the option equal.
• Select the option 1 (Yes) from the Value drop-down menu.
• Click on Save.

If a panelist now indicates that they own a car in the master data survey created in the previous step, they will be added to the “Car owner” group.

Specifying Update Rules

In order for the grouping to work automatically, you need to create a rule for updating the panel group. To do this, simply follow the steps below.

• Select the Update rules menu item from the menu on the left-hand side.
• Click on the Create update rule button.

• A new page for creating an update rule is displayed.
• First enter a name for your rule. In our case: “Car”.
• Select “default” as the group category from the drop-down menu.
• Under Panel group to be updated, select the Car owner group that you created in the previous step from the drop-down menu.
• Activate the checkbox for the option Execute rule automatically?.
• Set the start time.
• Select an interval from the Interval type drop-down menu. We will select Day as an example.
• Enter a value in the Interval value field. We will enter the value 1, which means that the rule is executed once a day.
• Now we need to select the action to be performed as part of the update: In the Create new action drop-down menu, select the Apply grouping filter option.
• Click on Save.
• The selected action must now be configured further: In the drop-down menu under Value, select the grouping filter to be applied. In our case “Car”.
• Then select the filter operation to be performed from the drop-down menu below. In our case: “Add panelists that match condition“.
• Click on Save.

The system will now automatically check once a day, whether there are panelists who have indicated that they own a car in the master data survey, and if so, they will be automatically added to the “Car owner” group.

---

Inviting Panelists to the Master Data Survey

So far, you have imported panelists into the panelist administration, created a master data record, set up a master data survey and assigned the corresponding master data record to a question as an example. Additionally, you have created a group, a grouping filter and an appropriate update rule for the group. In the next step, we will search for the imported panelists, invite them to our created master data survey and then check whether the configured grouping filter works as expected.

The panel status of the panelists we imported in the previous step is “Admitted temporarily”. Panelists with this status can be found in the panelist administration under Candidates.

• In the People module, select the Panelist administration menu item from the menu on the left-hand side.
• Then select the Candidate menu item.
• Enter the @ sign in the Search text field and click on Search. As an e-mail address is stored for each panelist, you can use the @ sign to display all candidates.

• The 3 panelists we have previously imported are listed at the bottom of the page under Panelists found.
• Activate the checkbox on the far right under Actions for all 3 panelists.
• Select the Master data survey action from the drop-down menu further down.
• Click on Execute.
• On the next page, select the master data survey you created from the drop-down menu.
• Click on Execute.
• A new page for composing the invitation email is displayed.
• Either select the desired template for your invitation email from the drop-down menu next to Mail template or – if you have not yet configured a template – fill in the relevant fields manually:
• Under Delivery, select the E-mail option.
• Under Mail sender, select yourself or the person you would like to specify as the mail sender. If no mail sender is displayed in the drop-down menu, you must first add one. 
• Select HTML only as the mail format and click on Apply mail format.
• Enter the subject. In our case: “Invitation to master data survey”.
• Draft the text for your invitation email in the Visual editor. You must insert placeholders so that content such as the participant’s name and the link to the survey are replaced dynamically for each participant. You can view a list of all available placeholders by clicking on the question mark under the Subject field. In the example below, the placeholder #u_firstname# is replaced by the first name of the panelist, #u_name# by the last name and #code_complete# by the link to the survey.
• If necessary, adjust the date and time for sending the invitation under Delivery options.
• Then click on Preview mail at the bottom right of the page.
• A mail preview is displayed. Check that all placeholders have been replaced correctly. If you have not yet saved a mail template for invitations to master data surveys, you can save your mail with placeholders as a mail template by activating the corresponding checkbox at the bottom left of the page.
• To send the mail, click on Send.

Reviewing the Grouping of Panelists

Finally, we would like to check whether the configured grouping worked. We assume that all panelists invited to the master data survey have already taken part in the survey, but that the “Car owners” group has not yet been updated, as we have only selected once a day as the update interval.

• In the People module, select the Groups menu item from the menu on the left-hand side.

• The “Car owner” group you created is displayed and you can see that it does not yet contain any panelists.
• Now select the Update rules menu item from the menu on the left-hand side.
• In the line with the update rule “Car”, click on the Play symbol under Actions.

• Confirm the execution of the update rule again by clicking OK.
• The update is carried out and you can see that the “Car owner” group now contains our 3 panelists. All 3 panelists have therefore indicated in the master data survey that they own a car.

FAQ

What is the purpose of master data in panelist management?

Master data consists of basic panelist characteristics that are stored independently of specific projects. It allows for easier evaluation and creation of sub-panels or groups based on consistent criteria across your panel.

How often should I update my panel groups?

The frequency of group updates depends on your specific needs. You can set up automatic update rules to run daily, weekly, or at any other interval that suits your panel management strategy.

Can I import panelists from external sources?

Yes, you can import panelists from external sources using the import feature in the Panelist administration. Make sure to use the provided import template and follow the guidelines for required fields.