Table 3.
Advantages | Disadvantages |
---|---|
In-Person | |
Easy to build rapport and provide a sense of legitimacy to the project | Labor intensive |
Able to provide immediate specific details regarding the project | Unable to restrict contact to the target population |
Multiple visits to the same location (e.g., community center) led to saturation | |
Social-Media Based Tools (Facebook, Craigslist, mobile apps) | |
Immediate dispersion of study information to many individuals simultaneously | Difficult to build rapport with potential participants |
Able to use filters to restrict contact to target populations (e.g., sexual preference, self-reported HIV status, gender) | Users can accuse study profile of being “fake” or messages as solicitation/spam |
Can be done remotely from any location | Profiles associated with the study are prone to getting suspended/banned |
No fees for basic services | Extra costs associated with upgrading app to view/access users in a larger geographic catchment |
Easily able to track individuals who have been previously contacted using certain platforms (e.g., Grindr, Adam4Adam) | Other platforms, specifically Craigslist, unable to determine if users had already been contacted, resulting in one user expressing frustration. Recruiters changed strategy to update only publicly displayed posts containing study-related content |
Individuals are contacted privately, allowing for greater confidentiality regarding participation | |
The GSN have messaging systems that are based on phone location and will allow messages to other users within the vicinity based on location of user | Requires changing location to avoid messaging the same individuals in one general area |
Referrals from other research studies | |
Individuals already interested in participating in research | Risk of homogenizing sample |
Many have some experience participating in research studies previously, familiar with similar protocols | Risk of recruiting individuals who are trying to qualify regardless of eligibility criteria |
Print (Palm Cards, Flyers) | |
Visually appealing way of promoting study details concisely | Higher cost for color/laminated option, extra time required for design considerations |
Provides study contact information for later use | Some people may not want to carry research study information on his/her person |
Note. GSN= geo-social networking