Deleting and anonymising panellists using Panel Manager

Panel Manager allows the user to delete or anonymise panellists. 

• If a panellist is deleted, they are completely removed from the Q_Panel database. 
• If a panellist is anonymised, the panellist records will remain in the database, but sensitive information, such as first name, last name and email address will be replaced by random characters.  The anonymised panellist will automatically be deactivated so will no longer be able to log into the Q_Community website, and set to Do Not Contact so they cannot be emailed.  Information about panellist activity, such as contact history, Q_Community website activity and email history will still be available to view within Panel Manager – although the panellist will need to be identified by ID rather than name or email address.

By default, the panellist first name, last name, login name and email address are set to be anonymised.  It is also possible to define profile variables to be anonymised.  This can be done using Hierarchy Manager.

Deleting and anonymising cannot be reversed, so care should be taken when using these options.

Deleting Panellists

Deleting panellists is a group action, please ensure that the group only contains the panellists you want to delete, as this action cannot be reversed.

Select one or more panellists to be deleted by executing a suitable filter and, if necessary, removing or adding panellists to the group. 

When you are happy with the selection, check that the In Group and NOT In Group counts show the expected numbers.  Page through the filter results to check you have selected the correct panellists (shown in blue) before clicking on Delete from the Group Action toolbar.

A message will appear confirming the number of panellists to be deleted.  Click OK to confirm, or Cancel.

If OK is selected the panellists will be deleted and they will be permanently removed from the Q_Panel database.

Anonymising Panellists

Anonymising panellists is a group action, please ensure that the group only contains the panellists you want to anonymise, as this action cannot be reversed.

Select one or more panellists to be anonymised by executing a suitable filter and, if necessary, removing or adding panellists to the group. 

When you are happy with the selection, check that the In Group and NOT In Group counts show the expected numbers.  Page through the filter results to check you have selected the correct panellists (shown in blue) before clicking on Anonymise from the Group Action toolbar.

A message will appear confirming the number of panellists to be anonymised.  Click OK to confirm, or Cancel.

If OK is selected the selected panellists will be anonymised.   Their first name, last name, email address and login name will anonymised i.e. replaced with random characters.  If any of the profile variables are set to ‘Anonymise’ within Hierarchy Manager, the values stored within will be removed.

In this example, the Postcode and Total Rewards Points variables have not been set to anonymise using Hierarchy Manager so their values have been retained for the two anonymised panellists.

To set a profile variable to anonymise, the variable must have the ‘Anonymise’ checkbox ticked within Hierarchy Manager.

The anonymised panellists will be deactivated and set to Do Not Contact, so will no longer be able to log into Q_Community, and cannot be selected for sample or emailed.