Prior to realising online interviews or online focus groups, the targeted and efficient recruitment of the participants poses an important task. EFFICIENT AND TARGETED REDRUITMENT OF INTERNET USERS In contrast to phone books or postal address lists, there is no central internet register of email-addresses that could be used in randomized online samples. Here, centrally maintained pools of voluntary internet users ("online-access panels") provide a good resort. As in traditional offline panels, the panellists are available for ad-hoc interviews as well as for interviews. BENEFITS OF INTERVIEWS IN YOUGOV' ONLINE PANEL By retrieving core background data (master data) from the panel registration, it is possible to select specific samples from the address pool. The master data can provide supplemental information for the interview data or be applied for quotas and/or weighting. After the registration, the participants can be specifically invited to individual interviews. Distortions caused by self-selection (e.g. participation due to individual interest in interview topics) can thus be minimised. In panel surveys, multiple participation can easily be controlled. Because of the individual interview-invitations, the field time, in comparison with on-site surveys, is independent of the website traffic. QUALITY CRITERIA FOR YOUGOV' ONLINE PANEL YouGov' "I-think" panel includes approx. 10.000 registered panellists and is recruited exclusively active (online and offline). Incentives are paid anonymously via collection-only cheques. All panellists are required to fill out an extensive master data-questionnaire on registration. USER EVALUATION OF YOUGOV' ONLINE PANEL For a long time, users voted the "I-think" panel No.#1 on www.ciao.de (meanwhile, ciao does not offer rankings anymore). Besides the cordial customer service, they specifically recommended the panel's high respectability and user friendliness, the total absence of advertisement as well as the high quality of the "I-think-"online interviews. Those facts argue for the panel-participants' high motivation (that also becomes manifest in the excellent return rates of normally 60-80%). Highly motivated participants guarantee, in turn, the high quality of data in YouGov' panel interview (e.g. less "click throughs", detailed answers to open questions). CONTACT Holger Geissler Member of Management Board +49 221 42061-0