Frequently Asked Questions
What are online surveys?
Companies want to understand their consumers, so to do this they hire market research companies to survey their target audience. By agreeing to join the survey panels of these market research companies, you become become part of the panels major companies hire to conduct market research. Your participation helps shapes the products, services, and advertising of the future.
How do I participate in online surveys?
Once you register with a survey company, your profile is created and your information is placed into a secure database. When a study matches your profile, you are sent an invitation by e-mail inviting you to participate in a survey. The survey invitation e-mail will provide the approximate time length of the survey, the topic, and of course, the incentive (cash, prizes, gift certificates, points, etc.) The survey itself is conducted online and once you complete it, you will be given your incentive. Cash for surveys is normally paid out by cheque, although PayPal is becoming a more and more common method of payment to panelists.
How often will I receive survey invitations?
This depends on a variety of factors. Of course, the more market research companies you register with, the better chance you have of being invited to participate in studies. Also, if you fit a demographic that companies are particularly interested in, you will likely receive more survey invites than somebody else. Another example would be if you fit a particularly rare demographic ex.75 year old active male who spends 35 hours a week online – in this case too, you may receive more surveys to complete.
When I’m e-mailed a survey invitation, do I have to participate?
No. If you do not feel like participating in a particular study, the choice is simply yours.
What do I get for participating?
Incentives range from a stated amount of cash, merchandise, gift certificates, chances to win prizes, and points that are redeemable for cash or merchandise. Incentives (or rewards) for surveys are stated in the e-mail invitation you will receive, inviting you to participate in the survey. Keep in mind that when you are offered a chance to win a large sum of money, your chances are of winning are fairly decent (compared to something like the lottery); remember that you are only competing against a the other participants invited to do the survey, and your chance is as good as theirs.
Is there any cost to join?
There is no cost to participate in legitimate online surveys – as is the case with the online market research companies listed on this website. The only cost involved would be if you are interested in registering with a large number of online survey companies. For a nominal fee, we will provide you with a listing of 100+ online survey companies looking for Canadian panelists. More information can be found on our special survey offer page.
Can anyone do online surveys?
Yes, as long as they are over the age of 13 and have parental consent. Those who have reached the age of majority are free to join any online survey company’s panel, provided they fit the panelist criteria (ex. Canadians 18+). For a list of teen surveys, take a look at the canadian teen surveys page.
What do market research companies do with my survey responses?
They report their findings to the companies that have hired them to conduct the study. Anonymity is maintained, as the data is reported in a collective sort of way, rather than sigling out a particular individual. Legitimate online market research companies have privacy policy statements on their website assuring participants that their privacy is protected during survey conduction.
Can I get rich taking online surveys?
No. Any website that says you will is lying. Even if you sign up with every single market research company in existence, you’ll probably only have enough surveys to do as a part time job. Online survey taking is more like a fun and easy way to supplement your existing income. Who else would pay you $25 for 15 minutes of your time to answer a bunch of questions about, say, candy?
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How are the T4’s distributed (if at all)? If so, is it multiple issues per survey company or all rolled up into one though this company?
If no T4’s, then are these surveys not taxed and reported?
Regards,
Ryan
Hi Ryan,
T4’s are not typically issued by survey companies, because as a panelist when you complete surveys for them, you are considered a contractor, not an employee. T4’s are only issued to employees of a company.
Therefore when you receive payment cheques from multiple survey companies, it is your responsibility to tally up your earnings at the end of the year and report them on line 104 of your income tax return, under “other income”.
hi There, I noticed above each survey company, there are stars. Some have 5 some have only 3. This usually indicates how good or honest this company is. Who rated them and can I see comments on them.
Thanks Gina
Hi Gina,
The ratings on our website for survey companies are arbitrary and have been assigned by CanadianPaidSurveys based on a number of different criteria. These include the quality of the survey panel, incentives offered, number of years in operation, accreditations, and more.
Presently we do not offer the capability for survey panelists to leave their comments or assign their own rating for a survey company, however we do hope to add this feature to our website in the near future.
how do i find out how many points i have?
Hi George,
To find out how many points you have accumulated, you must log into your account for the survey company you have registered with. For example, if you registered as a member of Ipsos, you will need to log into your Ipsos account using the username and password you provided during registration. There you will see your points balance.
CanadianPaidSurveys is not a survey company – we are a survey company directory. We do not offer surveys ourselves nor do we offer membership, therefore there is not a spot to log in on our website to check points balances, update contact information, request payment, etc. You must do these things specifically with the survey company you become a member of.
Hi,
A couple of questions: are most of these surveys the type where a participant is eligible to ‘win’ a cash prize? or where you get points that, again you are only in a pool, where you ‘might’ win .. or are there surveys where participants definitely know there is payment for taking that particular survey? And, if paid, how do participants get paid?
Thanks!
Hi Krystal,
Although there are some survey companies who only offer their members the chance to win a prize, most offer gift cards or cash payments.
Cash is paid via cheque or by PayPal. Here can find a list of surveys that pay cash and specifically, surveys that pay via PayPal.
Follow the link to get a list of surveys for gift cards.
Or, if you’d like an easy comparison tool where you can get a list of survey companies and what they specifically they reward their members with, check out our surveys worksheet.
In terms of what you will receive when you specifically answer a survey, this is always stated in the survey invitation email. It will say something like “if you complete this survey, you will receive x points or x amount of dollars”. If points is the incentive, by knowing you can exchange your points for cash payments, giftcards, etc. this will help you know exactly what your ultimate reward will be for completing the survey.