Cultivating engagement in research using social media networks to recruit participants for health related research
MacDermott, Siobhan, Ascari, Manuela, Farrelly, Mary and Mac Gabhann, Líam
(2020)
Cultivating engagement in research using social media networks to recruit participants for health related research.
Journal of Current Trends in Nursing & Health Care, 1
(2).
The rise of online communication has meant that a growing number of users now spend more time communicating through social
media, such as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. As new technologies continue to emerge, researchers are considering social
media as a medium for recruiting participants for research. Social scientists including health related researchers often face challenges
with participant recruitment. Recruitment remains a persistent challenge for researchers particularly when topics are sensitive such
as healthcare and mental health. Inadequate sample size, delay and even cancelled studies can occur due to lack of enrolment and are
challenging for researchers. Using social media networks health researchers can improve the pool of research participants, who then
can be selectively recruited for both online and offline studies. The purpose of this paper is to describe the process involved and the
issues researchers encountered with participant recruitment during two research studies that employed online social media methods.
This is a growing field and more research is required to explore optimal strategies for the successful recruitment using online social
media platforms. Researchers need to consider new and evolving ways to recruit research participants particularly within difficult-to-reach populations.
Metadata
Item Type:
Article (Published)
Refereed:
Yes
Additional Information:
Article number: 109
Uncontrolled Keywords:
Social Media; Research Methods; Participant Recruitment; Facebook; Twitter