Expanding opportunities to maximise research recruitment and data collection using digital tools

ABSTRACT

While digital tools are often recommended for researchers, there is a lack of evidence around effective social media strategies among researchers to optimise participant recruitment and data collection. However, an ‘add Facebook and stir’ approach could create extra burden for participants or foil researchers’ efforts. Participant recruitment using digital tools requires a high degree of knowledge and strategy to be effective. Data collection with digital tools offers new avenues for social researchers to engage with different types of data. Online photos, databases, and social media posts offer opportunities to use data analysis techniques like thematic analysis or photovoice with broad data sets. There are specific ethical issues with digital recruitment and data collection, including relationship boundaries and informed consent. The insights in this article can support researchers to widen participation in their studies, sample from broader geographic areas and data sets, access different kinds of data, and increase the feasibility of social research.

KEYWORDS:

• Research methods
• participant recruitment
• data collection
• social media
• research ethics

Acknowledgement

The author would like to acknowledge Mathilde van der Merwe for her assistance in preparing this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jennifer Jackson

Jennifer Jackson PhD is a Registered Nurse and an assistant professor in the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Calgary. Her research interest is supporting nurses and improving health systems, currently focusing on community harm reduction services.