ERIC Number: ED669379
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: N/A
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 978-1-5296-0133-6
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: 2022-03-01
Recruiting Participants via Social Media: Like, Share, Block, Report. Sage Research Methods: Doing Research Online
Aimee Quickfall
Sage Research Methods Cases
Social media is a popular method for recruiting research participants and especially during the current pandemic. Researchers are increasingly using platforms like Facebook and Twitter to engage with participant groups, either to collect data directly (by posting links to online surveys) or to recruit participants for further research activity (to inform them of interviews or focus groups). While the use of social media to gather data and recruit participants is increasing rapidly, the development of guidance for this activity has not kept up with engagement. For my doctoral main study, I recruited participants for face-to-face interviews using social media (Twitter). Little has been written about the ethical implications of this method of recruitment and my experiences have taught me a lot--from potential participants "outing" themselves publicly as being involved to over 11,500 people engaging in my tweet when I only needed six participants! What had seemed a very easy way to attract participants became a bit of a minefield, which hopefully I can help you negotiate successfully for your study as there are benefits to social media participant recruitment. I have included some extracts from my research journal (labeled Fourth Shift Stories, as they were written after teaching, parenting, and studying were completed) so you can see what I was thinking at the time, as well as my reflections looking back on the study. [This content is provided in the format of an e-book.]
Descriptors: Research Methodology, Recruitment, Social Media, Data Collection, Selection Criteria, Ethics, Research Problems, Learning Experience
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Publication Type: Books; Non-Print Media; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A