Using Web Panels for Official Statistics

New developments in computer technology, but also new challenges in society like increasing nonresponse rates and decreasing budgets may lead to changes in survey methodology for official statistics. Nowadays, web panels have become very popular in the world of market research. This raises the question whether such panels can also be used for official statistics. Can they produce high quality statistics about the general population? This paper attempts to answer this question by exploring methodological aspects like under-coverage, sample selection, and nonresponse. Statistics Netherlands carried out a test with a web panel. Some results are described.