Get Started with Panels – Help Center

Before you start creating your criteria in Panels, you need to create the survey the panelists will participate in. You will use the same survey provider as the one you use in the Community. You’ll want to follow the same instructions as creating a Recruitment Survey, keeping in mind the following:

The Sample Size you target for your panel will be the total number of Successful Completes you need. You will only pay for Completes.
If you need to screen people out in the Panel, create Termination and Over Quota logic in the survey and use the proper redirects just like you would with a recruitment survey in the community.
Panelists who screen out because of termination or over quota logic will not count toward the Sample Size and you will not be charged for those participants.

For full instructions for creating the Panel Survey, please use the following step-by-step instructions:

Now, with your survey created, it's time to create the panel.

You can use the same survey in both Panels and the Community if you want all responses in one survey.

Select Panels in the top navigation tabs. The Panels home screen displays your projects and the status of each. As you add projects in the future you'll see these projects appear on this screen.

Create a New Project

Supplement community research by running ad hoc projects in Fuel Cycle Panels. Click on either the New Ignition Panel Project or New FC Panel Project button appearing at the top of the home screen to initiate a Panel. Enter the details for your panel, and a Fuel Cycle representative will be in touch with you shortly to discuss the project.

Your FC representative will create a project quote based on the assumptions you input. Preview the quote and choose to accept or cancel the project. More information on pricing and payment is available on the Panels Overview. At this point, you should have a survey ready to field that you've previously created and imported into the Fuel Cycle platform. Click here for more about creating a panel survey.

Step 1 (First Page)

As you enter these inputs, the total price quote will update on the right side of the page. This is the cost of the project.

Enter a Project Name. This can be any friendly name to refer to your project. It's the name that will be referenced on the project home screen.
Select an Audience. Fuel Cycle has defined several predefined audiences. More details on Quick Audiences can be found on the Panels Overview knowledge base article.
Select your Sample Size for the project.
- Sample Size is the total number of Completes you require for the project. Users who screen out of the survey based on termination or over quota logic do not count toward the sample size.
- The project will run until the sample size is reached.
- Larger sample sizes may take more time to fill.
- Smaller samples below 100 may not be supported (depending on your other inputs)
Choose the number of Fielding Days (from 1, 2, or 4 days). High incidence rates are easier to fill in shorter periods of time. Low incident rates, large samples, niche audiences/quotas, and long LOI can require more time to fill, or in some cases be more expensive to fill in shorter periods of time.
Select the Estimated LOI (length of interview). This estimate reflects the estimated time it will take for respondents to complete the panel survey in minutes.
Indicate the Incidence Rate (expressed as a percentage). This is a measure of the rate of occurrence/percentage of people eligible to participate in a study as a subset of the larger population. Lower incidence rates can take longer to fill with eligible responses (because these people can be harder to find). Screener questions can impact this figure.
Once you're satisfied with the inputs and project quote, click on the Save and Continue button to navigate to step 2.

If the Panel is unable to accept your input specs, you'll receive an alert message at the bottom of the screen. This tends to only happen at the fringes when the sample is too small, the LOI too great, or the incidence rate and field days too little. Adjusting these specs typically solves the issue. Contact Fuel Cycle Client Services if you have custom specs.

Step 2 (Second Page)

In the next step, you'll be presented with the project cost summary (based on the assumptions you supplied in the previous step). In this final step before deploying your survey, you'll need to enter the following two inputs. Select the Survey you wish to field, by typing the name of the survey. You can only select from surveys you have already created and imported into Fuel Cycle. You can select a survey that is also running in the community if you want the survey to include responses from both panel and community members. In the next step, add your company credit card by clicking on the "Add Credit Card" button. This step will ask you to enter standard credit card fields. You can save this payment method as your default credit card for future panel projects.

Finally, click on Accept & Order Survey button at the bottom of the screen when you're ready to proceed with the project. This will deploy the survey. Alternatively, you can cancel the project at this stage as well.

Manage a Project

Once you set up a new project, you can manage it on the Fuel Cycle Panels home screen. On this screen you can view:

Actual Incidence: The actual observed incidence rate on the project
Estimated LOI: The selected LOI estimate you entered into the project specifications
Actual LOI: The actual observed LOI on the project
Sample Size: The sample size you selected in the project specifications
Current N: The current Sample Size of the project. With projects in progress, this number will count up with each successful completion
Estimated Price: The price quote
Actions
- Drafts
  - Archive
  - Edit
- Deployed
  - Pause
  - Resume
  - Close (finalize and close the study, triggers an invoice)

Your project will automatically end when any of these conditions are met:

Selected N size/Sample Size is reached.
Field Days is exceeded.
The incidence rate cannot be reached.
The project is canceled by either you or a Fuel Cycle Admin.

You'll be notified via email when your project is complete. You'll also receive a copy of the receipt.

Project Changes

In some cases, a researcher may not correctly assess the incidence rate or survey length (or have a survey that is hard for respondents to take which leads to an increased dropout rate). This may necessitate a price increase or decrease in the price as a result. You'll be notified via email of any changes to your project, including pricing.

View the Data

The data is collected by the survey provider for the selected survey. You can view and analyze the survey responses by launching the survey provider in the Surveys section of the Fuel Cycle platform.