Questions
Here are answers to the questions asked most often by
members and prospective members of the Harris Poll Online.
Membership Basics
How do I become a member of the Harris Poll
Online panel?
Select the Join Now
button and fill out the registration form.
How did I become a member of the Harris Poll Online?
Our names come from several sources.
In every email invitation, we identify
ourselves in the header, explain how we received your email address, and
describe how you can unsubscribe. We do not "spam" or send
unsolicited commercial email to our panel members.
Who is in the Harris Poll Online panel?
Our panel consists of a diverse cross-section
of people residing in the United States, as well as in over 200 countries
around the world.
Do I have to pay to be a member of the Harris
Poll Online panel?
No. Membership and access to select Harris Poll
Online surveys and results are free of charge.
How do I benefit from participating in
surveys?
See the Rewards section to learn more about the
various rewards of being a member of the
Harris Poll Online panel.
How do I obtain a password?
When you register directly with us, you are
required to enter a password. Please select a password that you can remember,
but that is known only to you.
You can always change your password by selecting Modify/Update your profile
link from our Members section.
I lost my password. Is there a way to
retrieve it?
If you can't remember your password, select the Forget
your password? link from our Members section. Your password will be sent
to your email address.
How do I update or change my personal
information, including my email address?
You may update or modify your registration information by selecting the Modify/Update your profile
link from our Member section.
What happens if someone else in my household
signs up with the same email address?
Only one person per email address can be registered as a member of the
Harris Poll Online as stated in our Terms Of Use
agreement . The first person with a certain email address to sign up for the
Harris Poll Online will be registered. Any subsequent people will need to sign
up using different email addresses.
How do I unsubscribe from the Harris Poll Online?
We appreciate your participation in the Harris
Poll Online and encourage you to remain part of our community. However, if you
would like to unsubscribe
from the Harris Poll Online at any time, you may do so.
Go back to Topic Areas
Panel Member Concerns
Does anyone have access to my personal information?
Protecting your privacy is of the utmost importance to us. We employ the
most sophisticated technology to protect your personal information, and we
will never release your information without your permission. For more detailed
information, please review our Privacy
Policy.
What if I'm not getting any surveys?
If you haven't done so already, please add us to your safe list. ISP's
change their filters often which may cause your survey invitation to end up in
your junk email folder or it may be blocked completely. It's a good idea to
check your subfolders to make sure you don't miss any of our survey
invitations.
Go back to Topic Areas
Participation in Surveys
How do I participate in research surveys?
Generally, we invite a randomly-selected portion of the Harris Poll Online panel
to participate in a survey. We send you an email invitation that describes the
survey and provides you with a link to the survey so that only you can take the
survey.
How many emails can I expect to receive from the Harris Poll Online?
As a general matter of policy, Harris Poll Online panel members receive
between two and three invitations to unique surveys on general topics each
month. Members may, however, receive one to two reminder invitations for each
survey.
Some Harris Poll Online members with special interests (e.g., movies,
product testing, and elections/political issues) or special characteristics
(e.g., chronic illness sufferers) have agreed, in response to an invitation
from the Harris Poll Online, to take surveys specifically tailored to their
interests. These members may sometimes receive an additional one to two
surveys per month.
We may also contact you for the following reasons:
-
To confirm your acceptance of a prize or incentive
-
To invite you to review results from a recently completed survey
-
To tell you about exciting, new services or information
How soon after registering can I take my first survey?
Shortly after you register, you can participate in an introductory survey.
The purpose of this survey is to give you a sample of questions that you may
be asked in future Harris Poll Online surveys.
Why do you ask personal information in your survey?
We ask questions about your demographics, interests, employment, purchasing
behaviors, and online usage to help us develop general trends about our panel.
This information is used to conduct statistical analyses so we can ensure that
our sample of respondents is representative of the general population. We also
use this information to subdivide the panel into special interest groups and
to send you surveys that are more pertinent to your interests and
characteristics.
What is a "subpanel" and how do I sign up for one?
A subpanel is a subset of our members who share certain interests or
circumstances (e.g., allergy sufferers, teachers), and in response to one or
more screening questions, have qualified and agreed to participate in a series
of surveys on a particular topic. The invitations for our subpanels are sent to
a random selection of our database population, as they become available.
Do I have to participate every time I am invited to take a survey?
We encourage you to take a survey whenever you receive an invitation. We value
each panel member's opinion. Choosing not to participate in a survey will not
affect your membership.
How do I know if a survey is offering an incentive or sweepstakes?
The email invitation to a survey will mention if any incentive or
sweepstakes is available for participation in that survey. A link to the
sweepstakes rules page can be found in the invitation, as well as on the last
page of the survey.
Are people residing outside the United States eligible to participate in
any sweepstakes that is offered?
Yes. We are continuously investigating international laws regarding
sweepstakes rules and eligibility. As of now, HIstakes is now open to Austria,
Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece,
Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, the U.K., and
the U.S. Many other countries have their own rules and regulations regarding
sweepstakes which make them ineligible to participate in our HIstakes, however
we are still in the process of researching many others.
How long do surveys take to complete?
Our surveys take anywhere from 5 to 25 minutes. We try to keep the surveys
to a maximum of 15 to 20 minutes. This time may vary depending on the speed of
your Internet connection or browser.
What happens if I am in the middle of a survey and either do not have time
to finish or lose my connection to the survey?
If you did not complete the survey, you can finish at a later time. Simply enter
as you did originally, using the same unique URL. You can resume taking the
survey where you left off. Some surveys are only available for a few days. In
cases where the survey fielding has ended, you will be notified when you try to
enter the survey.
Besides online surveys, what other types of research methods does Harris
Interactive, the company behind the Harris Poll Online, use?
Harris Interactive conducts research using a variety of methods, ranging
from online surveys and focus groups (chat room style or bulletin board
style), telephone and direct mail to in person focus groups and personal
interviews. Currently, we use the Harris Poll Online to conduct surveys via
the Internet for:
-
Added convenience to respondents
-
Fast turnaround
-
Identifying potential panel members for focus groups, both online and in
person.
Who do I contact if I have questions or comments about a survey?
Rose Walker or John Milton at our Survey Help Desk will be very happy to answer
any questions you may have and they will listen to any suggestions or comments.
Questions or comments about the design or content of specific surveys will then
be forwarded to that survey's project manager. We value your feedback, as we
continually try to improve the quality of our surveys and your survey-taking
experience.
We invite you to visit the Survey
Help Desk and share your feedback.
Go back to Topic Areas
HIpointsSM
What are HIpoints and how do I earn them?
In appreciation for your
participation in our surveys, we will award you HIpoints every time you complete
select surveys that offer HIpoints. Once you've accumulated enough HIpoints, you
may redeem them for rewards in the various HIpoints Folios.
What is a HIpoints Folio?
A HIpoints Folio is a special collection of rewards available for your
selection. Think of it as a private catalog of prizes. Folios are available at
a variety of HIpoints levels. Redemption levels are:
- 800 HIpoints Folio
- 1,350 HIpoints Folio
- 2,000 HIpoints Folio
- 2,500 HIpoints Folio
- 3,000 HIpoints Folio
- 4,000 HIpoints Folio
- 5,000 HIpoints Folio
- 6,000 HIpoints Folio
- 7,500 HIpoints Folio
- 8,500 HIpoints Folio
- 10,000 HIpoints Folio
How do I redeem my HIpoints?
1. Log in to the HIpoints website (http://points.ugive.com/hpol) and then select the "Redeem My HIpoints" button from the left-hand menu.
2. Once the list of Folios appear, select the "View Folio" button to preview what rewards are available in each Folio.
3. When you are ready to redeem, click on the "Redeem Folio" button to exchange your HIpoints for a specific Folio.
4. Find the reward you want, and then click to select the item.
5. Enter your shipping address, when prompted, and your reward is on the way!
Do I have to redeem my HIpoints all at once?
You control how and when you redeem your HIpoints. You can choose to redeem
all of your HIpoints, just some of your HIpoints, or you can continue to
accumulate them for later use.
Can I order from more than one HIpoints Folio?
You make the decision on how to use your HIpoints. You can choose one
reward at your highest available HIpoint level Folio, or select several from
lower HIpoint level Folios.
Do I have to pay anything to receive my reward(s)?
All costs for the rewards (including shipping and handling) are covered by
Harris Poll Online. There are no hidden costs. You do not have to pay anything
to receive your rewards!
How old do I have to be to participate in HIpoints?
Harris Poll Online panel members who are 13 years of age or older are
eligible to participate in HIpoints.
From what countries are panel members eligible to participate?
Panel members that are legal residents of all countries approved for shipping from the U.S. are eligible to participate. Currently we cannot ship to Afghanistan, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, or Syria.
Go back to Topic Areas
Technical Challenges
What computer technology do I need to
participate in surveys?
For most of our surveys, all you need is an Internet connection.
Occasionally, our surveys require additional technology that you may or may
not possess, such as a sound card. In those cases, the survey invitation will
specify any technology requirements. If your computer lacks the required
technology, feel free to wait to take part in a future study that does not
require these features.
For your convenience, here are links to useful, free software to download:
How do I address any technical problems I encounter while taking a
survey?
Unfortunately, we occasionally experience technical problems with our
servers or surveys. From time to time, our servers may become overloaded
when too many people try to access a survey at the same time. If you can't
access a survey or it takes too long to complete a particular survey, you
can always exit and finish the survey at a later time.
If you are experiencing a technical problem, please feel free to contact
the Survey
Help Desk. The Survey Help Desk will determine what the problem is and
help you access the survey, or, at least, explain what is happening.
I tried entering the password you sent me to get into the survey, but it
didn't work. Help!
Please contact the Survey
Help Desk, and we will help you gain access to the survey.
Which browser works best?
We recommend using Netscape or Internet Explorer (non-AOL version) to
view our surveys. We encourage AOL users to use one of those two browsers
when participating in Harris Poll Online surveys. These browsers connect
directly to our surveys, thereby producing a faster connection and a better
overall experience. If AOL users would prefer to use the AOL browser, we do
provide a link to the survey that the AOL browser can read.
Once I am done taking a survey, how do I get back onto the Internet?
Once you have clicked on the forward button one last time and reached our
"Thank you" page, you can follow any of the links on that page to
Harris Poll Online-related sites. Or, you can simply use one of your
bookmarks or type in a URL to go to another site on the Internet.
Why am I not getting survey invitations? Why am I only getting reminders?
To combat SPAM, many mail servers and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) use
high-tech filtering devices to ensure that you receive as little or no SPAM as
possible. We know how annoying SPAM can be, and we support efforts made to
reduce SPAM. However, some legitimate email that you want to receive, like our
survey invitations, may be mistakenly flagged as SPAM and never make it to
your mailbox.
To make sure you continue to receive survey invitations, please add
HarrisPoll@hpolsurveys.com to your list of trusted senders. In order to do
this, we have provided simple instructions for each mail provider below.
Instructions For AOL Users
Place HarrisPoll@hpolsurveys.com in your address book. If you're using AOL
9.0, you may also want to list HarrisPoll@hpolsurveys.com in your "People
I know" list.
If you're using AOL 9.0, please follow these steps to place us in your
Address Book:
- Sign in to your AOL account. On the top of your screen, you will see the
words "File," "Edit," "Mail,"
"Community," "Services," "Window,"
"Keyword," "Sign Off," and "Help."
- Click on the word "Mail."
- A dropdown list will appear. Click on "Address Book."
- In the bottom of the Address Book window, you will see buttons labeled
"Sent To," "Add," "Add Group,"
"Edit," and "Delete."
- Click "Add."
- Type or copy and paste HarrisPoll@hpolsurveys.com into the first "Other
E-Mail" field.
- Click the "Save" button.
Instructions For Yahoo Users
You can instruct Yahoo to place all email sent from HarrisPoll@hpolsurveys.com
into your Yahoo Inbox. To do this, follow these steps:
- Open your Yahoo mailbox and sign in.
- Click on "Mail Options" located in the upper
right-hand corner of the page.
- Under the SPAM heading, click "Filters."
- Click "Add."
- There is a field titled "Filter Name:" Type "HarrisPoll."
- There is a field titled "From Header." Make sure "contains"
is selected in the drop-down menu.
- There is a space right next to the drop-down menu. Type or copy and
paste HarrisPoll@hpolsurveys.com into that space.
- At the bottom, there is a field titled "Move your message to:"
Select "Inbox" from the drop-down menu.
- Click the "Add Filter" button.
Also, please add HarrisPoll@hpolsurveys.com to your address book.
Instructions For Hotmail Users
Add HarrisPoll@hpolsurveys.com to your "Safe List."
To do this, follow these steps:
- Open your Hotmail mailbox and sign in.
- Find the Today, Mail, Calendar, and Contacts buttons at the top of the
page.
- Click on the "Contacts" button.
- On the left-hand side of the page, there is a link named "Safe
List." Click on the "Safe List" link.
- Type or copy and paste HarrisPoll@hpolsurveys.com in the space provided.
- Click the "Add" button.
- Click the "Mail" button at the top of the
page to go back to your mailbox.
Instructions For Other Service Providers
Please add HarrisPoll@hpolsurveys.com to your address book or contact list.
If your mailbox does not have an address book or contact list, please contact
your ISP's tech support and ask how they can make sure email from HarrisPoll@hpolsurveys.com
makes it into your mailbox.
Go back to Topic Areas
Contact Information
If you have a question or concern about a survey, please contact the Survey
Help Desk.
Go back to Topic Areas
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