Want to make money taking surveys? Can you abide by these ethics?

As a trusted resource for honest answers for these free paid surveys online, you should be bound by the following guidelines.

You want reputable research firms to take you seriously, right? You want them to consider you for future work from home opportunities to make money taking surveys, right? You want to get paid right?

You'll need to earn a good reputation, which includes your standards of behavior. Honesty in everything is the basic bottom line. It's not a quiz. There are no right and wrong answers in consumer research, just observed responses, so just be yourself!

Make Money Taking Surveys | Rules

NEVER EVER attempt to register with a paid survey company more than once, with multiple email accounts, under multiple aliases, or any other means of data manipulation or falsification!

• You will be found out, kicked out, and most likely black-listed as a "professional survey respondent."  Per industry standard best management practices, you may also be barred from ever registering with any other survey panels! Any evidence of tampering with results, fraudulent registrations, or the like, will not be tolerated by legitimate businesses. It's wrong, so just don't do it. This is pretty much the practice that has caused more problems and scams, on both sides, than any other. Too many unscrupulous people have tried to take advantage and make money online from "free paid surveys", fraudulently. Then survey companies had to establish dedicated anti-fraud practices. Which costs them money. Which is passed on to respondents in the form of lower payouts. So who ultimately pays for fraud?

Honesty is the ONLY policy when you participate.

Do not give the answers you think they want to hear, answers you think will better your odds at completing that survey, or pattern responses. HONEST answers are the ONLY answers any survey or researcher is looking for. There are no right and wrong answers in consumer research, just observed responses. You can and will skew the results with bogus answers. It could even disqualify you from participation in future paid online surveys. Oftentimes, red flags from certain answers, deemed out-of-synch with your demographic or previous surveys you've taken from them, will prompt a review of your answers, and you may be deemed unsuitable for participation in any more free online surveys. If you're not completely honest, paid surveys online are a lose-lose for everyone.

Give real contact and background Information when you join.

The only way that you'll benefit as a cog in this machinery of market research surveys is if they can identify you. Most survey results are aggregated, or mixed and sorted and anonymous, so rest easy.
 

• Worried about privacy? Most reputable survey firms will state clearly that your personal information will never be divulged or shared, per industry guidelines. If you're that worried, you can always get a P.O. Box.

• Nobody cares that John W. Smith II lives at 1234 Mockingbird Lane in Cincinnati Ohio. Earns $68,978 a year working for AT&T and is married to a woman named Sandy. Daughters Brandy and Mandy have their own bedrooms. He drives a 2008 red Porsche Boxxer and has a Nakamichi DVD player. He spends $193 a month on boutique specialty popcorn. All they care about is a man, in the 40-48 year old demographic, making somewhere in the $65-75K range working in the communications industry, is married to a woman and has two kids, who rents and doesn't own his own home in zip code X, drives a sports-car not an SUV, watches movies more than TV, and spends a decent chunk of change on brand Y microwave popcorn with or without extra butter or salt or cheese or whatever. Get it?

• If you're 55, don't tell them you're 18 because you think they want the "hip-happening-new-generation" opinions over yours. For new video game testing, you may not be high on the list for opinions. For big-ticket items, real estate investments or retirement funds, who do you think they petition for paid surveys?

• Spell your name correctly, or at least use proper initials, and give a proper mailing address. The only thing worse than getting a check with a name other than your real name that you can't cash or deposit, is NOT getting that same check because you didn't tell them your real mailing address.

Don't rush while taking these surveys

• Trying to make the highest hourly rate by whipping through every surveys for cash offer is both counter-productive to the whole process and completely frowned upon. Please don't do it. Read the questions carefully. Inevitably you'll miss the word "not" and make mistakes. Half-correct-answers short-change yourself, and again, affect the survey results in a negative way. Making pretty patterns in the answer boxes or just randomly answering with nonsense because it's quick is rude. Researchers and the companies who hire them spend a lot of energy and resources creating online surveys, Just as you don't want people wasting your time, don't waste theirs by giving a less than sincere effort.

Give the BEST Answers you can

• Some companies will remind you of this before you start. Taking the time to give thoughtful and the most correct answers (as they apply to you) is very important to the accuracy of the study. You may think that "they" don't need to know if you have a DVR machine or electric razor in your house, or who you're using to refill your ink-jet cartridges, but it all matters to them. Statistics are drawn from every single answer you give, and the better the answers, the better the quality of the study. The better the study, the better the company that asked for the survey can meet the needs of its consumer, which is ultimately YOU!

Market researchers spend LOTS of time being concerned with data quality. Look it up - try "data quality + online surveys" in your favorite search engine. Pffft, it'll blow your mind.