A Bias Evaluation for Probabilistic Web Panels at Statistics Canada
Articles and reports: 11-522-X202500100009Description: Three series of web panels were implemented at Statistics Canada from 2020 to 2024. Participants for these web panel series were recruited from respondents of large probabilistic social surveys (recruitment surveys), and subsequently were invited to complete a series of short online surveys. Estimates of recruitment survey variables were calculated using both recruitment survey weights and web panel weights, and these were compared; differences signal the possibility of residual bias that was not corrected by the web panel weighting process. This investigation found more significant differences than would be expected if the web panel estimator fully corrected for the bias resulting from the web panel response process. Questions related to certain topics such as politics and voting, sense of belonging, and media consumption were found to have the most significant differences between web panel estimates and recruitment survey estimates.
Issue Number: 2025001Author(s): Mather, Anne; Boulet, Cilanne; Ra, YoungchangMain Product:Statistics Canada International Symposium Series: Proceedings
