Market research is the process of collecting and analyzing data by talking to consumer or businesses via focus groups, individual interviews, surveys, etc. Organizations rely on this type of data to make informed decisions about products, services, and/or markets.

You must be aged 13+ and living in the United States. You do NOT need to be a U.S. citizen or have a green card. Members of all immigration status are welcome. We also welcome teens to join the research community with parent approval.

You will receive payment via Amazon gift card or virtual credit card within 3-5 business day after completing a study upon validation (Please refer to what to expect in a survey for more details about data quality control and data validation).

We will use this information to invite you to participate in research studies. Your information will be held in the strictest of confidence and will not be sold. Please review our Privacy Notice for more information.

Most studies are handled on an invitation-only basis. For surveys, we will usually email you an invite. For other types of studies, we may follow up with a phone call in addition to an email invite.

We will ask you a few questions to determine if you are eligible for the upcoming project. Our clients specify the type of people they would like to speak with. Sometimes, it is based on what products or brands you purchase. Other times, our clients may ask for participants with children living in the household. Every project has its requirements.

Our studies include online surveys, online video focus groups, online video diaries, online bulletin board discussions, phone interviews, in-person focus group discussion, or one-on-one interviews. Topics can be about food, beverages, automobiles, banking, insurance, media, healthcare, etc.

Compensation for research participation depends varies and depends on project budget. The majority of the studies available are online surveys and the compensation for answering a survey range from $2-$10 depending on survey length, type of study, and project budget. For 90-120 minute group sessions, you may be paid between $75 and $100.

For focus groups and individual interviews, the Market Research Industry has strict standards around the frequency of participation. Typically, panelists will not be asked to participate in a new study if they have been involved in a similar study within the past six months. For online surveys, you can take as many surveys as you want.

The information you provide is aggregated and summarized. We never report findings on an individual basis.

Yes, you may do so at any time. Please send us a message on the contact page, put “unsubscribe” and your registered email address in the message, and we will remove you from the panel database.

Online surveys can be filled out on your schedule within a specified period of time. Some clients will compensate you for a completed survey. Others may hold a drawing and offer a larger prize. The survey will always start out with a few questions to make sure you are eligible. If so, you will be directed to finish the survey. Please note that each survey has limited quota for certain demographic groups. Please note that if you don’t qualify for a survey or the quota is full, you will NOT be compensated for the survey. However, you will find out early in the process whether you qualify or if the quota for your category is full.

Survey closed means that one of the following has occurred: 1) The survey has been completed. Normally surveys are active for 2-7 days. 2) The desired number of answers has been collected for this survey. 3) Some surveys automatically close due to inactivity, typically after 10-15 minutes.

Quota full means that the survey is full of respondents within the targeted range. This can be either before the start of a survey, which is normally indicated as closed or sometimes in the early stages of a survey where certain criteria within the survey becomes filled. This normally varies depending on the rate any given survey is responded to and the overall amount of responses needed by different people to fill a quota. Surveys where you receive “Quota Full” do not count as fully completed and incentives are not rewarded as the information is not used.

Surveys are sent automatically when your profile matches the requirements of the survey. We recommend that you fill in your profile with as much information as possible. This will be easier to match your profile to surveys that suit you.

A screen out occurs when you are outside the target group for a given survey. Rather than consuming your time on answers that cannot be used, the survey will end early (normally within the first few questions). This can happen from time to time even if you have originally been selected to take part as some surveys require specific information. Surveys where you receive “screen out” do not count as fully completed and incentives are not rewarded as the information is not used. 

Zero incentives can occur when someone completed a survey in a manner deemed inappropriate (bad or untruthful). We will not share with you which questions proved to be problematic for our clients. Below are some ways clients define “bad” or “untruthful” responses

• Survey Speeding
  Every survey executed has an estimated time to complete. If you complete a survey in a time frame that does not fall within the range that is acceptable, you will not qualify for the survey, not receive an incentive, and may be terminated from Sparkle Change.

• Inconsistent or Inaccurate Answers
  If you provide answers that are not accurate and or inconsistent in any manner whatsoever, you will not qualify for the survey, not receive an incentive, and may be terminated from Sparkle Change.

• Red Herring questions
  Clients, at times, will put questions in the survey multiple times or demand that you choose a specific answer to ensure you are being truthful and/or reading the entire survey question. If our client finds that your responses are unacceptable as per the red herring directive, you will not qualify for the survey, not receive an incentive, and may be terminated from Sparkle Change.

• Open End Questions
  At times, clients will have a section within a survey that requests respondents to fill in their answers by writing them in, rather than selecting an answer from a set of pre-identified responses. If a response in Open Ended question is considered to contain language that is inappropriate, non-sensible, or not fitting for the question, you will not qualify for the survey, not receive an incentive, and may be terminated from Sparkle Change.

A focus group is a small number of people (typically 4-8) who are led by a moderator, an experienced market researcher, to discuss a specific product, service, or topic. You will be asked to share your attitudes, preferences, and beliefs throughout the interview. Your opinions will help the client make decisions regarding marketing, advertising, product development, etc. There are no right or wrong answers. Your thoughts matter! The role of the moderator is to get you talking. The moderator may also take notes and record the session. Doing so will help the moderator summarize the session for the client. Focus groups usually last two hours. Individual interviews will typically be shorter. Focus groups and individual interviews may be held online (on Zoom or an online research platform) or in person at a focus group facility. They are typically scheduled in the evening.

Have other questions that are not covered here? Please submit your questions on the contact page. We will answer your question and update the FAQ.

We utilize a secure database and will hold your data in the strictest of confidence. We will never sell, share, release or give your contact information to anyone outside of our company. Your name, email, address and phone number will only be used for the purpose of inviting you to join a research project. Please refer to our privacy policy for more details.