Using an Integrated Choice and Latent Variable Model to Understand the Impact of 'Professional' Respondents in a Stated Preference Survey

Abstract

Internet panels are increasingly used for stated preference research, and members of such panels receive compensation for each completed survey. One concern is that over time this creates professional respondents who answer surveys to receive the monetary compensation. We identify professional respondents using data on panel tenure, survey response frequency, completion rates and total number of completed surveys. We find evidence of two types of professional respondents: hyperactives who answer surveys frequently and experienced who have long panel tenure and a large number of completed surveys. Using an integrated choice and latent variable model in a stated preference survey, we find that hyperactive respondents are less likely to choose the 'status quo' and have a more stochastic choice process as seen from the econometrician's point of view, whereas experienced respondents have a relatively more deterministic choice process. Our results show that hyperactive respondents significantly impact estimated values.