Surveys: High-paying focus groups

The surveys offered by these companies are a little different. Rather than surveys, these companies offer message board discussions and focus groups, which often run over a course of a few days. The work involved can be a bit time-consuming (taking pictures with a digital camera, posting to an online forum, attending a phone conference) but the payments, which start at $50 and may go as high as $300, are well worth it.

Name	Safety Rating	Hana's Rating	Review	Notes	Link
Focus Forward	No risk	10/10	I've done many studies with this company and have always been paid on time. Between this panel and 20/20's, I find that Focus Forward's studies usually pay more.	Payment is in the form of a check mailed to your home.	Visit
20/20	No risk	10/10	I've done many studies with this company and have always been paid on time.	Payment is in the form of a check mailed to your home or a virtual Visa code to be used online.	Visit
Schlesinger Associates	No risk	8/10	This company doesn't send out many studies, and it can be difficult to qualify, but they do pay reliably and quickly.	Payment is in the form of a check mailed to your home.	Visit

Misc: Cool sites that earn you rewards

Surveys are not the only way to earn money just by spending time online! There are other sites that offer rewards for everything from making purchases to simply searching the web. These sites can be amazingly quick and efficient ways to supplement your income. All of the sites in this section are sites that I personally use and have had good experiences with.

Name	Safety Rating	Hana's Rating	Review	Notes	Link
Swagbucks	No risk	10/10	This is one of the easiest sites to use, as rewards are earned simply by searching the web as you normally would. There are often bonus codes offered.	Payment is in the form of a huge selection of gift cards and merchandise.	Visit
MyPoints	No risk	10/10	Points add up quickly on this site! There are many ways to earn them, too, from surveys to trial offers to points per dollar you spend at merchants you regularly shop at.	Payment is in the form of a huge selection of gift cards and merchandise.	Visit
Vocalpoint	No risk	10/10	This site, which offers forums, polls, and message boards, requests your opinions about products that they will send you to try. It's quite a fun network to belong to.	Payment is in the form of free products.	Visit
eJury	No risk	10/10	This is a great site that allows you to participate in trials online and pays you well for your verdicts. You must have a driver's license to participate.	Payment is in the form of a check mailed to your home.	Visit

Surveys: Best survey companies

There are myriad survey companies out there, all of which promise various different rewards in exchange for your opinions. Some of these companies are reliable, to be sure, but some of them are riddled with errors and dishonesty, and will result in nothing more than a headache for the survey taker. I have compiled a list of my favorite companies, all of which are reliable and trustworthy, and have given each a rating and a little review. I only review companies that I have personal experience with; please do not email me asking me to add your company to this list.

Legend for the notes section:
FG: Surveys sometimes lead to focus groups.
CS: You may be offered membership in a Communispace, or paid bulletin board.
PT: Surveys sometimes lead to product testing.

Name	Safety Rating	Hana's Rating	Review	Notes	Link
Survey Savvy	No risk	10/10	I've been with this company for years and they've always been prompt and reliable with payment. Their surveys can be lengthy but the incentives are worth it.	Payment is in the form of a check mailed to your home. FG, CS.	Visit
Opinion Outpost	No risk	10/10	This company is reliable, the surveys aren't extremely long and arrive frequently, and the online rewards are delivered instantly.	Payment is in the form of Amazon gift cards or Paypal. FG, PT.	Visit
MintVine	No risk	10/10	This company offers surveys on many different topics; payments are easy to achieve at $10 (1000 pts) with many 200 pt surveys.	Payment is in the form of Paypal. PT.	Visit
E-Poll Surveys	No risk	10/10	Most surveys are quick, easy to qualify for, and pay well; the company is reliable and has been featured on various primetime television programs.	Payment is in the form of a huge selection of gift cards or cash.	Visit
HCD Surveys	No risk	10/10	This company offers interesting and fun surveys that often utilize multimedia, such as giving responses about short videos.	Payment is in the form of a check mailed to your home.	Visit
Mills Advisory	No risk	10/10	This is the official panel of General Mills, and all surveys will be regarding topics relating to their products, some of which you may be asked to test!	Payment is in the form of free products to test and/or a check mailed to your home.	Visit
Baker Street Solutions	No risk	9/10	This company sends surveys regularly, but they fill up very quickly, so be sure to complete their studies as soon as possible! Payment is very reliable.	Payment is in the form of Amazon gift cards.	Visit
Viewpoint Forum	No risk	9/10	This company pays reliably and quickly, but there is often a long gap between surveys.	Payment is in the form of a check mailed to your home.	Visit
Survey Spot	No risk	9/10	Some of their surveys do not offer incentives, but those that don't are clearly marked as such. You may cash out at any level above $10.	Payment is in the form of cash through Paypal. FG, PT.	Visit
Socratic Forum	No risk	9/10	Surveys arrive frequently and each has a fair incentive attached. Qualifying for surveys can be tricky at times but you will make it in to a fair number.	Payment is in the form of a check mailed to your home. FG.	Visit
Lightspeed Panel	No risk	9/10	The company is reliable in giving credit for surveys and prompt with redemptions, but some of the surveys are quite lengthy for the incentive promised.	Payment is in the form of a huge selection of gift cards.	Visit
Harris Poll	No risk	8/10	The surveys are shorter than those of many other companies, but it can take an extended period of time to build up enough points for a reward of any consequence.	Payment is in the form of a huge selection of gift cards and merchandise.	Visit
Datatelligence Online	No risk	7/10	This company offers plenty of surveys to its panelists. It can be tricky to qualify, but the compensation is reasonable.	Payment is in the form of various gift codes, usually for Barnes & Noble.	Visit
Resonance Research	No risk	7/10	Resonance is not the most active company, but they are reliable and their surveys are interesting. Most are a fair length for the promised incentive.	Payment is in the form of a check mailed to your home.	Visit
Keynote Research	Medium risk	5/10	Keynote is reliable but has strict quality standards. They require participants to use Internet Explorer and install their software in order to take surveys.	Payment is in the form of Amazon gift cards.	Visit
TestSpin	No risk	3/10	This company no longer sends many surveys, and many of them are lengthy and most are geared for the IT/tech set. Extracting payment can prove difficult.	Payment is in the form of Amazon gift cards or cash through Paypal. FG, CS.	Visit

Surveys: Colleges that reward online

Colleges and universities often use the internet as a way to find participants for important surveys, such as to garner information that will be used for PhD theses. It is very important, therefore, that you do not discuss the contents of these surveys anywhere else on the internet, as you may corrupt the data. These types of sites generally require only a quick registration (and perhaps a short online prescreen) and are very reliable and secure. You'll notice a common format used in the majority of these sites; it is perhaps a good idea to use the same username and password on all sites of this type so that you do not confuse yourself.

Name	Safety Rating	Hana's Rating	Review	Notes	Link
Stanford GSB	No risk	10/10	This site offers both raffles and guaranteed pay, both in Amazon gift cards. The guaranteed pay studies usually offer $5.	Most studies fill up quickly, so be sure to check daily.	Visit
Stanford Psychology	No risk	10/10	This site offers both raffles and guaranteed pay, both in Amazon gift cards. The guaranteed pay studies usually offer $5.	Most studies fill up quickly, so be sure to check daily.	Visit
UCLA Anderson	No risk	9/10	The prescreen is rather lengthy and there aren't many studies available, but those that are pay reliably, usually directly to a Paypal account.	Most studies fill up quickly, so be sure to check daily.	Visit
MIT Behavioral	No risk	9/10	There aren't many studies available, but those that are pay reliably, usually directly to a Paypal account.	Most studies fill up quickly, so be sure to check daily.	Visit
Kellogg eLab	No risk	10/10	This site offers both raffles and guaranteed pay, both in Amazon gift cards. The guaranteed pay studies usually offer $5.	Most studies fill up quickly, so be sure to check daily.	Visit
Harvard Psychology	No risk	10/10	There are many studies available, but not all allow online participation, so check carefully. They pay in Amazon gift cards.	Most studies fill up quickly, so be sure to check daily.	Visit
Princeton Psychology	Low risk	7/10	The website is very infrequently updated, and most surveys offer a chance to win a reward rather than a guaranteed reward.	No registration is required to participate.	Visit
Yale SOM eLab	No risk	9/10	The surveys here offer a chance to win a prize (usually Amazon or Visa gift cards) instead of a guaranteed payment, but the odds are good.	Most studies fill up quickly, so be sure to check daily.	Visit
Yale Psychology	No risk	10/10	There are many studies available, but not all allow online participation, so check carefully. They pay in Amazon gift cards.	Most studies fill up quickly, so be sure to check daily.	Visit
OSU Communication	Low risk	7/10	The amount of available surveys is small, but they pay quickly and in cash.	The website is frequently closed to new participants, so sign up quickly if you should find it open.	Visit
Vanderbilt Psychology	No risk	10/10	This site offers a plethora of studies, many of which are for online participants and pay in Amazon gift cards or directly to a Paypal account.	Most studies fill up quickly, so be sure to check daily.	Visit
DCAL	No risk	7/10	The majority of the studies here are geared to the deaf or hearing-impaired, but hearing participants are accepted. They pay in Amazon gift cards.	Please do not abuse this website.	Visit
Macquaire Psychology	No risk	8/10	I have yet to qualify for (or even see) a study on this website, but I thought I should include it. The site is based in Australia.	I am unsure about payment methods for this website.	Visit
LSA Psychology	Low risk	9/10	This website recruits participants online and pays in cash, mailed directly to your home.	You will need to email your information to a researcher.	Visit
Kent Psychology	No risk	9/10	This site offers both raffles and guaranteed pay, both in Amazon gift cards. The guaranteed pay studies usually offer $5.	Most studies fill up quickly, so be sure to check daily.	Visit
Duke IISP	No risk	9/10	The majority of the studies on this website occur on campus, but the few online studies pay reliably in Amazon gift cards.	Most studies fill up quickly, so be sure to check daily.	Visit
Drexel Psychology	No risk	7/10	This website is rarely updated, but when it is, there is a small selection of studies that pay directly to a Paypal account.	Most studies fill up quickly, so be sure to check daily.	Visit
UCSB Psychology	No risk	9/10	The majority of the studies on this website occur on campus, but the few online studies pay reliably in Amazon gift cards.	Most studies fill up quickly, so be sure to check daily.	Visit
BYU Psychology	No risk	9/10	This website offers a small assortment of studies to online participants and pays in Amazon gift cards or directly to a Paypal account.	Most studies fill up quickly, so be sure to check daily.	Visit
UCCS Psychology	No risk	9/10	The prescreen for this website is very short, as are most of the studies, which typically pay directly to a Paypal account.	Most studies fill up quickly, so be sure to check daily.	Visit
WVY Psychology	No risk	8/10	This website is infrequently updated but occasionally offers studies that pay in Amazon gift cards.	Most studies fill up quickly, so be sure to check daily.	Visit
Boulder Psychology	No risk	9/10	The majority of the studies on this website occur on campus, but the few online studies pay reliably in Amazon gift cards.	Most studies fill up quickly, so be sure to check daily.	Visit
UM Psychology	No risk	9/10	The majority of the studies on this website occur on campus, but the few online studies pay reliably in Amazon gift cards.	Most studies fill up quickly, so be sure to check daily.	Visit