title: Comparing Samples of Men Who Have Sex with Men Recruited Online and in Venues, Jiangsu Province, China, 2013.
abstract: Two common methods to sample men who have sex with men (MSM) for HIV research are venue- and internet-based approaches. However, it is unclear which is best to sample Chinese MSM.
  
  
  
  We conducted side-by-side comparisons of time-location sampling (TLS) and an online sample of MSM in Nanjing, China.
  
  
  
  TLS-recruited MSM tended to be older and of lower socio-economic status compared to online-recruited MSM, whereas online-recruited MSM reported higher risk behavior and lower frequency of HIV testing.
  
  
  
  Significant differences were observed between the two separate samples. Without a gold standard, the choice of sampling method or recruitment approach should be guided by the segment of the population targeted to be reached.
authors.affiliation: 1 Jiangsu Provincial Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , Nanjing, Jiangsu, China .
authors.forename: Ling-En
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California , San Francisco, San Francisco, California.
authors.forename: Chongyi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California , San Francisco, San Francisco, California.|3 San Francisco Department of Public Health , San Francisco, California.
authors.forename: Willi
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: McFarland
authors.affiliation: 1 Jiangsu Provincial Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , Nanjing, Jiangsu, China .
authors.forename: Hongjing
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: 1 Jiangsu Provincial Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , Nanjing, Jiangsu, China .
authors.forename: Jianjun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California , San Francisco, San Francisco, California.|3 San Francisco Department of Public Health , San Francisco, California.
authors.forename: H Fisher
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Raymond
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002681:China; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000175:diagnosis; D018451:Homosexuality, Male; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D018579:Patient Selection; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: China; men who have sex with men (MSM); sampling; time location sampling