The Student Panel is the independent research service set up to represent the views of unversity applicants and students in Higher Education to industry, government and the media. Join and complete short web-based questionnaires to earn Amazon gift certificates.

Your account will be credited with:

• £8.00 credit on applying
• £2.00 credit on completing your registration questionnaire
• £1.00 to £2.00 for every survey you complete thereafter (length and subject matter determine credit value)

panelbase.net was first launched in 2004 and has become one of the fastest growing research communities on the internet. For every survey that you complete, you will be rewarded in one of two ways. Some questionnaires will carry rewards between £0.50 and £3, which is added to your panelbase.net account. In addition to receiving cash, other surveys may include entry into prize draws where you could win anything from a case of wine, to an iPod or a plasma TV. As soon as you reach the redemption threshold of £10 (you get £3 just for signing up) you can withdraw your money or convert it to high-street vouchers.

• World Wildlife Fund
• British Red Cross
• Oxfam

Anyone aged 16 years or older with access to the Internet, a land line or mobile phone can join the panelbase.net research community. As they conduct research in a variety of ways (via the Internet, telephone, SMS, product testing, focus groups or postal) you can participate in a range of surveys that are not solely reliant upon you having access to the Internet.

Opinion People is an international online access panel, inviting you to participate in online studies covering current issues and get involved in the development of future products and services. You get paid for your input and also get the chance to win great prizes.

After registering with opinion people and filling in a few personal details in the basic profile, you will receive your own electronic account which will be credited with your first 7 bonus points. You will then receive a further 10 bonus points for the special profiles (Household, Internet & Technology, Job & Career, Cars & Motorbikes, Travelling, Health & Wellness, Finance, Media Use, Interests & Hobbies). 1 bonus point is equivalent to 10p. When you have accumulated a total of 150 bonus points, you will receive a pay-out of £15 direct to your bank account. For every survey you participate in (even if you do not complete it if you do not belong to the desired target group), you receive a ticket for the monthly raffle, so the more often you participate in surveys, the higher the number of entries you'll have. This company only very occasionally opens the panel to new members, so grab the opportunity when you find an invitation. Ages 14 and above.

UPDATE - Registration has just re-opened. Sign-up at Opinion People .

Valued Opinions, (formerly The Mobile Channel) pay you for every survey that you complete, (typically with between £1 and £2). The value of the reward can vary from 25p for taking part in a text poll, to £50 or more for attending a focus group. When your account balance reaches £10, you can exchange it with a gift voucher for one of a range of well-known high street and Internet shops, including Amazon, HMV, Tesco and WH Smith. I receive several surveys ever week from this company, earning enough for a payout nearly every month as well as test products.

Open to residents 16 and over. Also available in Ireland

Open to UK residents, 16 and over.

GlobalTestMarket has a very active survey division and requires participants worldwide over the age of 14. The views of those under 14 may be sought but the invitation will go to the parent for the child to complete.

You earn "marketpoints" each time you respond to a survey request - the closer you fit the demographics for the survey, the higher the points earned but you'll usually earn 5 points even if you don't qualify at all. A typical survey of up to 20 minutes to complete will earn 50 to 100 MarketPoints. You can also earn extra points when you refer others. Each point is worth $0.05 (paid at sterling equivalent in the UK) and you need 1000 points to qualify for payment by cheque.

They seem to be fairly active. I'm receiving at least 2 or 3 surveys every week at present. For full details and registration form, visit GlobalTestMarket

Opinionworld - Become a member of OpinionWorld and receive regular invitations to take part in interesting surveys and opinion polls. Each time that you take part you have the chance of winning instant prizes, entries into the monthly prize draw (prizes ranging from £35 to £750), and the opportunity to support charities. Every time that you take part in a survey some money is set aside for a charity; the actual amount depends on the size of the questionnaire. The greater the number of people who take part, the more money donated. Charities vary but have included WWF, Amnesty International, Unicef and Barnardos - just state at the end of the survey which charity you wish to support.

An increasing number of surveys also have personal cash rewards with your reward paid directly to your PayPal account.

Open to UK residents over the age of 14.

Newly launched, Mi-Info enables you to earn points by visiting ads relevant to you based on profile questionnaires you complete. You can make a claim when you have 1,000 points and then in multiples of 1,000 points. Claim vouchers from such stores as Argos, M&S and Homebase or donate your points to charity. 250 points when you sign up and a further 50 points for each person you invite who subsequently joins.

When you join Mi-info you will also have the opportunity to fill out surveys in order to gain more points.

Mi-info currently runs two competitions. The fortnightly Win a Wii competition for a Nintendo Wii games console and the launch day special prize draw to win a Smart car. To be entered into these competition you must register as a Mi-info user and complete the Mi-details and Mi-profiles section, this gains you entry into the Win a Wii draw and one entry into the Launch Day Special Prize Draw. For every person you refer who registers as a Mi-info subscriber you will gain one additional entry into the launch day special prize draw for a Smart car.

Open to residents of UK and Ireland aged 14 and over.

OnePoll typically have 20 to 30 active polls at any one time. Unlike other survey sites you don't receive an invitation but simply log into the site to see what surveys are available.

• Competition Surveys - Any panel member can participate in a ‘Competition Survey’. Each participant gets an equal chance to win a cash prize, typically between £100 and £1,000.
• Paid For Surveys - Panel members meeting certain demographic criterion (which varies for each survey) are invited to complete Paid For Surveys where they can earn a fixed amount (typically from 25p to £5) per survey.

Each time you complete a ‘Paid For Survey’ your OnePoll account will be credited with the relevant amount. You will be sent a cheque for the balance of your account each time it reaches £40. You get £2.50 when you register and can earn a further £2 by referring 5 friends.

OnePoll panel members are also eligible to participate as case studies. Payment can run into £100s. You may simply have offered up some interesting information in a survey that they believe has newsworthy appeal, or you may be responding to a specific request. It could be literally anything - from health issues to consumer experiences. You can earn £100s for simply taking part in a short telephone interview.

Open to participants of all ages but under 16's will require the written consent of a parent or guardian to participate.

Originally conceived as a site where you could publish your opinion on products, services etc. Ciao is now also one of the more active sites offering paid surveys. Ciao pays in cash, with a threshold of just £10.

Open to residents aged 14 and over.

http://www.thats-what-i-think.co.uk lets you express your opinions about what you see on TV and Movie screens and hear on the radio. You get a chance to see and hear new releases before they're made public and help decide if they are up to your standards. You earn "Opinion Points" which are redeemable for such prizes as gift certificates from Amazon.co.uk or to make donations to charity. Not only do you earn points for joining up, completing surveys and earn 20% of the points earned by friends you refer, but they also give away points just to say thank you for being a part of the thats-what-i-think.co.uk community, or for responding quickly.

Open to UK residents over 13.

Join the Juicy Brains Panel and you'll get to complete surveys quite unlike any others. Rather than just answering multiple choices questions or typing your own replies, you are shown all previous responses from other participants and can either select one or chose your own. You then use a happy/sad scale to quantify your responses. Expect to be paid at least £1 for each survey you complete and 25p-50p if you don't qualify for the full survey. Payout at £5 in Amazon vouchers. Get £1 in your account just for joining and 25p or more for additional information about yourself.

Open to anyone over 16.