Table 3. Advantages and disadvantages of using technology in the RCT recruitment process.

Medium	Advantages	Disadvantages
Overall Use of Technology	•  Can be less resource-intensive •  Allows more targeted recruitment on a larger scale •  Preferable to face-to-face contact in certain contexts	•  Participants may still want to meet in person •  Requires IT skills of both participant and researcher •  Data security considerations •  Issue of representativeness
Phone Calls	•  Quick, direct way to contact potential participants and check their status in the ‘sign-up process’ •  More personal	•  Requires initial contact by other means be it clinical or otherwise
Emails	•  Can attach relevant documents (e.g. information leaflets) •  Cheap, fast •  Allows reminders to be sent •  Recipient has more agency about when to engage with the information	•  Less personal and thus easier to ignore •  Cold-emailing tends to be less successful than when a relationship has been established/a gatekeeper is used •  Requires more IT skills than traditional phone calls or post
Post	•  May be preferable to participants who like to physically read information on paper	•  Less frequently used nowadays, especially for younger people. Many unfamiliar with going to post office •  Relatively cheap •  Slower
Videoconferencing	•  Most effectively simulates a face-to-face meeting	•  Platforms are of variable quality •  Some IT skills required
Social Media	•  Quick and cheap •  Allows widespread communication to large numbers of people •  Specific social media sites can be utilised according to demographics desired	•  Needs to be shared by those with larger following to reach required participants •  Can be too widespread, difficult to reach specific populations •  May exclude certain cohorts e.g., older people who may be less engaged with social media •  Less room for information – character limits etc. •  Can be considered less credible in some cases
Mailing Lists	•  Allows researcher to target a very specific desired population •  Those signed up are more likely to be interested in research	•  Require trust/relationship with a relevant body to allow access to mailing list
Participant Recruitment Websites	•  Monetary incentives are provided for participants •  Can recruit large numbers in short space of time	•  Expensive for researchers and create disadvantage among researchers who cannot afford to use them