Decision-making and data quality: Applying fraud response strategies to clean survey panel data

Survey panels provide extension professionals with a valuable tool for collecting data on a wide range of topics without overburdening their program participants. Paid data panels are particularly useful for gathering unbiased feedback about Extension programs. However, some survey participants in these panels engage in satisficing or straightlining behaviors to earn rewards with minimal effort, which compromises data quality. This study explored whether survey panelists’ perceptions of online survey items varied based on response quality. It compared normal and low-quality responses across broad issue areas and investigated whether age, education, income, or gender identity influenced these differences. Analysis of 94 respondents in each group revealed no significant data quality differences based on age, education, income, or gender identity. There was a statistically significant difference in data quality when using an open-ended question requiring greater cognitive effort. We recommend adopting more conservative data cleaning strategies. While this approach has limitations, its benefits are particularly valuable when the data informs an organization’s strategic priorities.