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If you have searched for ideas about how to make an income online, it is more or less guaranteed you will have come across a number of web sites claiming to offer you ways to earn a full time income simply by spending a couple of hours each day completing simple surveys and filling out online forms.

Sadly, when you dig a little deeper, you find that these so called golden opportunities are not quite what they seem. For one thing you are usually required to part with some cash in order to access the promised information. Then once you have done this, you almost always find the work you are expected to do bears no resemblance to giving your opinion and being paid for taking part in market research.

It’s easy to be taken in by all the hype and the professional looking marketing material some of these companies and individuals push at you. But one important point you should always bear in mind is that a genuine market research company will never ask you for money to join their panel. They have to follow a certain code of conduct, and they are prepared to pay you for your opinion not the other way around! Not only this, but all of the companies included on this site have strict privacy policies in place, so you can rest assured that the personal information you are required to give is kept completely confidential.

So how does online market research work?

At some point or another you may have been stopped in the street by someone clutching a clipboard, wanting to ask you questions on a specific topic. (Usually when you are rushing to catch a bus or get back to your car before the parking meter expires!) The person asking the questions will have been given a set criteria by the company commissioning the research of the kind of people they want to target. You are, of course under no obligation to take part in this type of research and it is highly unlikely you will be paid for your time. Telephone market research works in pretty much the same way.

Although these traditional methods of market research still take place, nowadays market research companies all over the world have cottoned on to the fact that it’s more efficient an d cost effective to use the internet to find willing people to form a database of panelists, who in exchange for providing a few details are paid directly by the research company to give their much needed opinion on a variety of topics. This means that if for example a confectionary company contacts a research company stating they want to pay them to find 2000 females from Essex aged 30 to 65 to test out a new product, the research company can tap into it’s database of panelists and hey presto! They have found their target audience. The research company sends out e mail invites to all panelists who fit the criteria until they have reached their quota. The confectionary company then goes on to pay the research firm, who in turn pay each panelist an amount for taking the time and trouble to take part. 

Throughout the remainder of this site you will find lots of advice, honest information and links to well established online market research companies - all of who pay their members in cash.

Good luck with your online survey taking!