Definition Panel data

Panel surveys repeatedly cover the same sample over stretches of time. Thus we collect what is called longitudinal data.

An example: In a survey, the same 1,000 people are asked about their holiday plans each year. The advantage of a panel survey is that it allows us to pursue developments over longer periods of time in relation to the same participants. For example, we can observe if individuals experienced attitude changes as a result of changes in their lives and environments. In this special form of data collection, we must note that so-called panel effects might occur, i.e., participants are influenced by the way the data is ascertained. For example, an annually recurring survey may cause the participants to reflect on the topic of the survey more intensely in their daily lives than they normally would.