Preliminary considerations | ||
a. Situation/condition analysis to identify target group-specific interests and needs, behaviors and requirements that arise for recruitment regarding the target group-specific situation b. Stakeholder analysis to identify relevant multipliers in the target group & living environment c. Resource plan for active communication structures to maintain contact throughout the participation process (e.g., individual contact persons, regular contact and inquiry about problems and challenges) | ||
Phase | Questions considered by potential participants | Actions researchers could take |
Pre-intentional | ||
1. Attention: Taking notice of a study | Does the study call address me? Does it attract my attention? | Facilitate getting attention by describing/highlighting a question, topic, or concern that is (currently) relevant in the target group’s daily life (rather than only describing a generic study objective) |
Considering different ways of approaching the target group given the available resources (e.g. time, staff, money) | ||
2. Appraisal: Determining the study’s credibility & utility | What is my first impression of the study? How do I know the investigation is credible? What is in for me? | Allow potential participants to get a good idea of the people who conduct the study and visualize/personalize the host institution for instance by providing potential participants with clear information about the people conducting the study and portraying the research team |
Transparency in the description of the study process and the study objective (incl. data protection, funding sources) | ||
Description of the relevance to the target group (incl. realistic harm and benefit) | ||
Considering the influence of cooperation partners that are present in the lifeworld(s) of the target group on the credibility judgment | ||
Establishment of a participant-researcher relationship by transparent and active communication | ||
3a. Interest: Participating because of the study’s topic | What would be the reasons for me to participate? Will the study answer questions I have? | Review the research question and topic before the start of recruitment in view of the target groups’ interest and motivation |
If necessary, reframe, i.e. ‘translate’ research question and topic from the researchers’ to the participants’ perspective (plain language) | ||
Cite experiential reports from targeted participants that potential participants can identify with | ||
3b. Interest: Participating to help others | Could my participation be of help for others? | Provide a realistic argument in the study call for whether and how participation will benefit others and if so, when this help will take place |
Give specific examples that demonstrate how the study & findings can help | ||
3c. Interest: Participating for a (non-) material incentive | What will I get back for participation? | Adapt a material/financial/ personnel incentive according to target groups preferences/needs: a sufficiently high remuneration for target groups who may prefer money (e.g. €50 for a 1-h duration), donation of material or financial help to a social, health, or environmental fund, the provision of personal competences (e.g. through an event or the supply of specific information), which benefit the participants in their daily lives, or let participants decide about the preferred type of incentive |
4. Social environment: Being guided by others | Have I heard back about the study from others around me? What do they think? | Identify whether and which non-professional individuals act as reference persons to the target group, e.g. social media bloggers, patient advocates, and include them early on in the recruitment |
Identify individuals with a particular (thematic, intrinsic) motivation for participation and involve them actively as peer recruiters – provided their role and benefit is clear | ||
5. Self-efficacy: Having confidence in oneself | Am I confident about successful participation? Would I be able to handle the demands? | Clear description of the study requirements |
Ensure an accessible study centre or an individual contact person who can immediately clarify questions and provide individual solutions in case of difficulties | ||
Provide examples of situations and/or task, requirements, and skills the target group is already familiar with, that will feel them to participate successfully | ||
6. Appropriateness: Considering whether participation is worth it | What will I put in to and get out of the process? Would I rather invest or get back? All things considered: Will the effort be worth it? | Pretesting of the individual effort by the target group |
Derive and list potential barriers and facilitators that participants may encounter and revise requirements if barriers outweigh facilitators | ||
Engage institutions and individuals in the recruitment process that are in regular and trustful contact with the target group and can hence provide orientation for potential participants about the pros and cons of participation | ||
Intentional | ||
7. Planning: Preparing for participation | What exactly do I have to do and is preparation necessary for that? | Establish a pre-participation conversation (mode) with participants to guide them through the planning (accessible accompanying communication structures) |
8. Coping: Handling expected challenges | Could there be any problems during participation? What can I do in that case? | Active communication to strengthen trust in the participant-researcher-relationship and own capability |
Instructions in plain language concerning technical requirements | ||
Include examples in the study call and/ or pre-participation communication that mirror the study (situation and-or) content closely | ||
9. Resources: Arranging for participation | Do time, technology and organisation play a role for participation? If so, how do I arrange for it? | Provide organizational, technical and scheduling alternatives for individuals in particular who express respective doubts to ease planning |
10. Support: Relying on help | Is there any available support before and during participation? | Guarantee the availability of a low-threshold and (short-term) support throughout preparing and taking part in the study |
Preparation of an overview for participants “in case of…” | ||
Use of familiar communication tools of the target group (e.g., instant messaging, e-mail) to improve direct communication | ||
Actional | ||
11. Formative Experience: Giving (initial) feedback | What is my (first) impression of participation? Were my expectations met? | Enable concrete feedback mechanisms, e.g. formal or informal conversation or survey at the end of initial participation to be able to adapt the recruitment process |
For multi-part/longitudinal studies: Establish regular monitoring structures to capture difficulties and uncertainties of participants during the participation process | ||
Incorporate initial feedback from early included participants into ongoing recruitment and-or study conduct if possible, for instance to use previously ignored recruitment channels or adapt the study call | ||
12. Motivation: Motivating to maintain and continuing to show interest | Does the study still catch my interest? Am I still motivated? Is the gratification worth continuing? | Use reminder features to emphasize personal benefit and both addressee and societal relevance, and to remind people of the gratification |
13. Continuing: Deciding about what to do next | Do I want to continue with the steps and tasks that are still to come? Is it worthwhile to continue participating and do I actually continue? | Strengthen participants’ feeling of attachment to the study by giving them an active role (see above) and provide a clear plan for the following steps |
Focus on timely commitment - try to reduce time needed for completion for follow up studies | ||
Point in time for follow up studies should be communicated clearly | ||
Contact regularly to inquire about difficulties and problems during the participation process | ||
Provision of tools to assess reasons for early drop-out (drop-out analysis) | ||
14. Summative assessment: Completing the study | My overall judgment? Would I recommend the study to others? | Scheduling a final survey for summative evaluation of study recruitment as a learning process for future recruitment |
Appreciative final thanks: Personal feedback that highlights the relevance of participants contribution | ||
Promoting the perception of the credibility and relevance of scientific studies in general | ||
15. Barriers and facilitators | What stops me from participating? What strengthens my participation? | Addressed in supplement 3 |