Recruiting stigmatised populations and managing negative commentary via social media: a case study of recruiting older LGBTI research participants in Australia

ABSTRACT

In this paper we explore methodological considerations for recruiting stigmatised populations online. Advertising for research participants via social networking sites (SNS) has increasingly become a tool of choice for both quantitative and qualitative researchers. However, such recruitment practices pose a range of challenges for researchers, especially in handling negative commentary such as trolling and its potential negative impact on prospective research participants. Using a case study involving a project on the health and well-being of older lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people in Australia, we outline the types of commentary we received on our advertising campaign, as well as our strategies for managing such commentary. We seek to offer ways in which researchers working with stigmatised populations, as well as controversial issues that may attract hostile attention, can effectively manage participant recruitment as researchers increasingly utilise online technologies for recruitment advertising.

KEYWORDS:

• Recruitment
• SNS
• commentary
• stigmatised populations
• ethics

Acknowledgments

We wish to acknowledge the following organisations for their input and feedback at various stages of this project: The National LGBTI Health Alliance, COTA Australia, Carers Australia, and SANE Australia.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by the Australian Research Council under grant number [LP160100221].

Notes on contributors

Andrea Waling

Andrea Waling, PhD, is an ARC DECRA Senior Research Fellow at the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society at La Trobe University.

Anthony Lyons

Anthony Lyons, PhD, is an Associate Professor and Deputy Director at the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society at La Trobe University.

Beatrice Alba

Beatrice Alba, PhD, is a Lecturer in the School of Psychology at Deakin University, Australia.

Victor Minichiello

Victor Minichiello, PhD, is a public health researcher and gerontologist and an Adjunct Professor in the School of Social Justice at Queensland University of Technology in Australia.

Catherine Barrett

Catherine Barrett, PhD, is the Director of Celebrate Ageing, a social enterprise challenging ageism and building respect for older people - the program includes Alice’s Garage, a project empowering LGBTI Elders.

Mark Hughes

Mark Hughes, PhD, is a Professor of Social work, and Dean of Arts and Social Sciences at Southern Cross University, Australia.

Karen Fredriksen-Goldsen

Karen Fredriksen-Goldsen, PhD, is a Professor and Director of Healthy Generations at the University of Washington in the United States.