Abstract
Facebook recruiting can be a challenge for many researchers. Should you pay for advertising? How do you reach real, eligible participants? This presentation describes the application of Social Network Theory to convenience sampling strategies to develop a Facebook recruitment strategy for a sample of grandmother caregivers. After identifying relevant sample characteristics using Social Network Theory, informal support groups were identified and contacted using the study Facebook user profile. Support groups were intentionally identified that were likely to interact with the targeted sample, and represented a geographically diverse population to ensure the sample met a priori sampling parameters. After establishing rapport with the informal support groups, they were asked to share the study Facebook page in their private Facebook support group. Interested participants filled out a self-screener to ensure they met the inclusion criteria. Then participants were required to speak with a research assistant prior to enrolling to discourage fictitious participants. With a small number of posts, a large numbers of qualified participants were quickly and effectively recruited. In three months 206 Facebook screeners were completed, 38 individuals neglected to provide their contact information; only 3 were not eligible for the study. Further only 6 of the qualified participants failed to participate in the study, representing a high level of study engagement. While using Facebook can pose a threat to intervention fidelity, with careful monitoring, the application of Social Network Theory to traditional recruitment strategies represents a novel way for researchers to recruit through Facebook and yield viable and engaged participants.