As academic and social researchers face increasingly complex challenges in reaching specific populations and ensuring methodological rigor, the combined offering of Norstat and Sample Solutions presents a uniquely powerful solution—bringing together the best of access panels, probability sampling, and advanced B2B recruitment.

Norstat and Sample Solutions: Supporting Rigorous Sampling in Social Science

The acquisition of Sample Solutions by Norstat offers new methodological possibilities for academic and social researchers. By combining Norstat’s established access panel infrastructure with Sample Solutions’ expertise in probability-based sampling and B2B recruitment, researchers can now reach both general population samples and hard-to-reach groups—including business decision-makers and migrant populations—using rigorously designed sampling frames. This integration supports both quantitative and qualitative research designs and enables the use of hybrid sampling approaches, where probability samples can serve as benchmarks alongside broader access panel data.

About European Survey Research Association (ESRA)

The 11th Conference of the European Survey Research Association (ESRA) will take place from 14–18 July 2025 at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. Organized biennially, ESRA brings together applied survey researchers, methodologists, and statisticians from across Europe and beyond to share new research, attend training workshops, and foster collaboration. This edition, themed “Promises and problems of new and alternative data sources and data formats for survey research: Methodological challenges and substantive conclusions,” focuses on the integration of emerging data sources—such as mobile, administrative, sensor, and social media data—into survey research. Hosted on a university campus to encourage accessibility and inclusivity, ESRA 2025 particularly welcomes early-career researchers and PhD students, offering dedicated support through travel grants, short courses, and awards.

A Robust Dual Offering for Individuals (B2C): Access Meets Probability

At the heart of individual-level research lies the need for representative data—be it through quota-based sampling or pure probability designs. With Norstat’s high-quality European access panel, researchers can efficiently reach general population segments across the continent. For projects requiring greater statistical rigor or representativeness, Sample Solutions’ LifePanel offers a probability-based panel tailored for academic, policy, and social research.

More importantly, the integration of these two approaches now enables hybrid sampling strategies:

• Use the Lifepanel as the reference point for calibration and benchmarking.
• Supplement with access panel completes to increase sample size or reach specific quotas faster.
  This flexibility supports both academic accuracy and operational efficiency.

Addressing Hard-to-Reach Populations: Migrants and Beyond

Traditional access panels often struggle with hard-to-sample populations such as migrants or ethnic minorities. Sample Solutions’ LifePanel, grounded in random probability sampling and enhanced with stratified outreach, ensures statistically sound inclusion of these groups—crucial for inclusive social and policy research.

Opening New Frontiers in B2B and Policy Research

For studies focused on organizational behavior, policy input, or economic trends, B2B recruitment is a critical challenge. The Norstat–Sample Solutions partnership now offers researchers an edge:

• Access to establishment frames and company databases
• A live, active B2B panel of verified professionals
• Direct digital recruitment of hard-to-reach decision-makers in niche sectors

This allows researchers to run both qualitative and quantitative studies with senior professionals—an audience traditionally difficult to recruit with scale or certainty.

Supporting Mixed-Mode and Phone-Based Research: CATI & RDD

Our capabilities go beyond digital:

• CATI (Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing) allows researchers to conduct in-depth qualitative interviews or reach low-internet populations.
• RDD (Random Digit Dialing) provides a foundation for telephone-based probability sampling across Europe.

These methodologies are especially useful for projects with methodological constraints, low online penetration, or when personal contact enhances data quality.

Why It Matters for Academia and Policy Research

Whether you’re conducting EU-wide value studies, longitudinal health surveys, or evaluations of government programs, this combined offering means:

• Flexibility in mode: online, phone, or mixed
• Diverse sample options: from elite B2B professionals to low-income migrant groups
• Methodological integrity: with access to both quota and probability-based data

Join our Presentations at ESRA

We invite ESRA 2025 attendees to join two sessions where researchers from Sample Solutions, Norstat, and Gallup present new methodological work on reaching hard-to-survey populations through probability-based and mixed-mode designs.

📅 Tuesday, July 15 at 11:00 – Session 7 (#700)
In “Optimizing Probability-Based Panel Recruitment and Mixed-Mode Data Collection in the Netherlands,” Carsten Broich and Nadica Stankovikj (Sample Solutions), in collaboration with Gallup, present a comparative study of CATI- and SMS-based recruitment methods for a probability-based online panel in the Netherlands. Drawing on data from four respondent cohorts, the presentation highlights differences in recruitment effectiveness, response behavior, and mode-related biases, offering concrete guidance for improving panel recruitment strategies and reducing measurement error in mixed-mode survey designs.

📅 Tuesday, July 15 at 15:30 – Session: Sampling Migrants in General Population Surveys
Later that afternoon, in the session “Sampling Migrants in General Population Surveys,” Carsten Broich will contribute to a broader discussion on methods for improving migrant representation in general population studies. This session addresses one of the key challenges in survey research today: how to meaningfully include migrant groups in a way that enables comparison with native populations. The presentation builds on practical experiences with probability-based migrant sampling in the Netherlands and Norway, exploring design trade-offs, recruitment barriers, and methodological innovations aimed at improving data quality and representativeness.

Both sessions offer valuable contributions for researchers working on minority inclusion, comparative population studies, or survey methodology in increasingly diverse societies. We welcome you to attend and engage in the discussions.

Visit us at our Norstat booth

At ESRA 2025, we invite you to visit our booth, where Jolanda Slim, Nadica Stankovikj, and Carsten Broich from the Norstat and Sample Solutions team will be available throughout the conference. Whether you’re planning a probability-based academic study, exploring hybrid sampling methods, or facing recruitment challenges in reaching hard-to-survey groups—such as migrants or business professionals—our team is happy to discuss tailored data collection solutions. Stop by to explore how our access panels, probability samples, and B2B recruitment strategies can support the specific needs of your research project.