Optimizing Recruitment for Qualitative Research: A Comparison of Social Media, Emails, and Offline Methods

Abstract

Participant recruitment through social media platforms has been suggested as an effective method for sampling from specific populations; however, recent online recruitment attempts have been met with varying levels of success. In the current study, we targeted a specific social media population: those who advocate for the Black Lives Matter movement, delineating between those with high and with low follower counts on Twitter. We compared the outcomes of our recruitment methods, which include Facebook ads; unpaid, personalized tweets; emails to groups involved in community advocacy; and offline methods. Included in our analysis is the amount of effort involved in each recruitment method, as well as advertising costs. Based on our comparison, Facebook advertising was the most effective form of social media recruitment for our study. In contrast, unpaid, personalized tweets were time consuming and ineffective.

Hispanics’ Perceptions of Participation in Research Studies and Solutions for Improvement in Participation

“…Using technology and social platforms to provide education about research, as well as its benefits and upcoming research opportunities, has not been extensively used in the Hispanic community [37]. The benefits of these platforms includes accessibility, low cost, and rapid transmission throughout a wide community [38,39]. Further, studies have demonstrated that social platforms can be effective when working with hard to reach populations [37,40].…”