Recruitment of research participants through the Internet.
Despite an increasing amount of Internet research, issues in recruitment for studies in this environment rarely have been discussed. The purpose of this article is to provide some future directions for participant recruitment via the Internet, based on the experiences of recruiting participants for three Internet survey studies. The issues in the recruitment process include those related to low response rates, selected groups of participants, the importance of timing, and potential ethical issues. Based on the discussion of the issues, the following suggestions are proposed for future recruitment through the Internet: use of creative motivation strategies; sensitivity to the gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status of potential participants; consideration of the timing of data collection; and sensitivity to potential ethical issues.
Im
Eun-Ok
EO
School of Nursing, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78701, USA. eim@mail.nur.utexas.edu
Chee
Wonshik
W
D000328:Adult; D001213:Asian / Q000208:ethnology; D001294:Attitude to Health; D018864:Cultural Diversity; D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet / Q000941:ethics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008297:Male; D008593:Menopause / Q000208:ethnology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000451:nursing; D015399:Nursing Research / Q000941:ethics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D009859:Oncology Nursing / Q000458:organization & administration; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology / Q000451:nursing; D018579:Patient Selection / Q000941:ethics; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012107:Research Design; D015983:Selection Bias; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D012986:Software Validation; D013997:Time Factors