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If a member of staff leaves the University of Wolverhampton while engaged in MPhil/PhD research, they must reapply to their Ethics Committee for the continuation of their research. The initial solicitation emails that I sent out, per IRB regulations, were dense, intimidating walls of text. For instance, three participants recruited through Facebook and six from snowball sampling can be fine, and you might even be able to say something about the differences between them. Its just that so many of us are so incredibly busy these days. Sometimes students look at the proposal defense as an adversarial situation, says recent psychology graduate Ryan Martin, PhD: "It's like they say 'I have to go in and prove myself to this committee.'" A good starting point is to think where the participants you are looking for may be most likely to congregate. Virtual mailing lists and email facilities in the VLE, which allow contact with specific groups of students, and are accessible to academic and administrative staff, may only be used to recruit research participants when the researcher has demonstrated through the application for ethical approval that participation would be beneficial to students, for example by giving them experience of research methods in their discipline. I enthusiastically wrote an email and survey soliciting study participants, triumphantly clicked send, and sat back and waited for the volunteers to roll in. Later use of lists not envisaged in the application must be notified to the Faculty Ethics Committee. If only! They often have connections that students don't realize. The name of the researcher or student, and her/his status and affiliation (e.g. Some advice he and others offer: * Consider the availability of the population you want to study. I guess I'm seeing participant recruitment as part and parcel of a wider mindset and epistemology required for projects that might involve highly personal, painful, or sensitive material. Mm, looks kind of interesting, but with a hundred plates already spinning in your life, do you really want to take on one thing more? I remember, as a kid, having the same feeling when Id spent all my money in the arcades and had to beg random strangers for the tube fare home (in fact, I found it so torturous that my best mate, James, always had to do it!). For my dissertation, I am looking for volunteers to participate in an anonymous, online experiment. "I've had students who say 'I'll write up the IRB form and I want to start data collection next week,'" he says. Different programs have different expectations about how students should prepare for the proposal defense, says neuropsychologist Bradley Axelrod, PhD, of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Detroit. You dont want to come across as too mechanistic or formal (it can feel intimidating), but too informal can also feel overly-casual and potentially unsafe. "My advice is that anything that is out of your control is scary," he says, "so if you have the data in hand when you go on internship, you're in a much better place.". They are impersonal, dry, and long. (In psychology, this is known as the foot in the door technique). A statement that the research has been approved by the relevant Ethics Committee. A really systematic way to think recruitment through is with a written recruitment plan. Using already-collected data means that you won't have to recruit participants, which can save time and expense, says Axelrod. But theres another, third, reason why recruitment can be so difficult: because, for us as researchers too, it can just feel so incredibly awkward. Additionally, they should be short; the subject box should contain a short description of the study. In thinking through strategies for recruitment, it may also be very helpful to consult the research on what works and doesnt work, says our PsychD Course Director, Mark Donati. Experts offer advice on how to make your IRB approval, participant recruitment and data collection go smoothly. Over the years, Ive just seen too many research projects fail, or severely stall, because researchers have sat back and waited for participants to arrive, rather than actively seeking them out. However many people you think are going to want to take part in your research, chances are, the final numbers will be even less! You must obtain the relevant permission for posters to be displayed in other institutions. Even if that doesnt get you the most participants, its the ethical and right thing to do. Teaming up with another student can greatly expand your participant pool, says Axelrod. Has an organisation, for instance, given initial indications that they would be willing to support recruitment, or have other projects used similar strategies to good effect? This doesnt mean being pushy, demanding, or nagging people when theyve clearly had enough of you. * Be ready to reapply. My Course Director, Mark, thought I should end this blog on an upbeat note, and hes absolutely right. Seriously, though, that awkwardness can create real obstacles towards successfully recruiting forand completinga study. See if there is a way for students in psychology classes to get extra credit for participating. Any use of such lists must be made directly by a member of academic staff, and not delegated to other staff or to students. Resources for faculty and staff from our partners at Times Higher Education. For more information about using archival data, see the article "New uses for old data" in the September 2004 gradPSYCH. My directions were too complicated, and mired in dense IRB language. If they know your a priori assumptions, for instance, it may be very difficult for them to provide a contradictory view. Ethically, theres a lot that you may want/have to say, but it can easily be overwhelming and off-putting for participants if its too much, too soon. The bottom line, Leach says, is that collecting data takes time. Here, you may need to balance the coherence and homogeneity that comes from having participants from just one source, against the greater recruitment possibilities that come from broadening things out. And, of course, as Rosie and Jasmine emphasised, be sensitive, collaborative, and kind. The semester started off so well. Thanks to trainees and tutors on the PsychD Counselling Psychology Programme at the University of Roehampton for suggestions and advice. But if its a personalised email, tailored to me (e.g., Dear Mick, given your position as a counselling psychology teacher.) then Im much more likely to respond. Join a study, Android smartphone study of food pictures, Supervision experiences of home-based counselors, Android smartphone-based study of food pictures, Food Labels Study: 4th Call For Volunteers, Food Labels Study: 5th Call For Participants. The committee members have already looked over your proposal and know the basic outline of your research,says Mark Leach, PhD, a psychology professor at the University of Southern Mississippi. Theres no doubt that some groups of participants are more difficult to recruit than others. Can a high school teacher ruin an applicant's chances? Many IRBs meet only once per month or even every couple of months, says Leach. FindParticipants.com is the resource for academic researchers enabling immediate access to thousands of interested research participants, and a platform for research participants to participate in research studies worldwide. Prospective participants may also be reluctant to take part because what were inviting them to do is hard, emotionally as well as cognitively. Our Roehampton colleague, Rosie Rizq, makes a similar point when she emphasises the importance of developing a collaborative relationship with (prospective) participants right from the very start: In my experience, many trainees tend to revert to a 'helicopter in/helicopter out' approach to their participants, rather than approaching potential participants with a collaborative mindset that may require particular sensitivity and thoughtfulness. "The committee can bring that to their attention. The text of such posts or tweets should be submitted for approval along with that for traditional media. We're now accepting applications for September through Clearing.  Find out how to apply. If you get the details right the first time, then you won't need to resubmit any forms--and your research can start on time. For example, a student he recently advised wanted to study sexually abused women but was concerned that she wouldn't be able to find enough participants at the local community mental health center. The experiRead More Hi, Finally, on this point re anonymity, prospective participants may be much more likely to respond to you if they can get a sense of you, as a person, rather than as an unknown name on a flyer. Remember to make use of support from your research supervisor(s). That means that I am not responsible for, nor will be liable for any losses incurred as a result of anyone relying on the Content contained in this blog, on this website, or any external internet sites referenced in or linked in this blog. If you are planning to conduct research in England which potentially involves research participants identified in the context of, or in connection with, their past or present use of NHS services (either as practitioners or clients), you are likely to need NHS REC approval. Whilst Ive endeavoured to ensure the Content is current and accurate, the Content in this blog is not intended to constitute professional advice and should not be relied on or treated as a substitute for specific advice relevant to particular circumstances. "If you're doing an [animal] learning study with 10 sessions, then you'd better stick to ten sessions," he says. Length of notices and other written materials is another challenge. Usually, it happens after you've written your literature review and decided on your research design and methods. Supervisors are busy people and may not be able to see you immediately, but its always worth getting an advance meeting in the diary with them to discuss where you are in your recruitment strategy. Be clear and concrete about what people should do next if theyre interested. Researchers who work with nonhuman subjects should be particularly careful to explain their reasoning and methods, adds Snowdon, who works with nonhuman primates. Indeed, experts advise students to at the minimum complete their dissertation proposal defense before internship. Ideally individuals should be able to take a positive step to participate rather than have the discomfort of declining a direct approach. For his master's thesis, he looked at patients who had suffered left-hemisphere strokes but did not have language impairment. As emphasised throughout this blog, trust is everything! A statement that the individual(s) named may be contacted for further information about the project before a respondent makes a decision about taking part. in the message header) the individual identities of other recipients. Thats not to say that theyll be critical of your research or think its pointless. Because of that, he says, his department limits proposal defense presentations to ten minutes, and students just outline the bare essentials of their research. And difficulties over recruitment are one of the main reasons why people have to extend their research projectssometimes by years. Plan, be realistic, be proactive, and flexibly adjust if things arent working out. Personally, Id nearly always suggest to avoid recruiting people you know, and particularly those you know well (and even more particularly your clients). Ask instructors for their help publicizing and sharing the details of your project. Make it as easy as possible for potential participants to follow through. Recently, says Leach, he's noticed that more clinical psychology students are collecting their dissertation data during their internship year, and thus relying on undergraduate or other research assistants to run the experiment. So you need to approach your recruitment strategy really sensitively: from the wording in a recruitment poster to the emails you might send out to participants. Again, though, the value of conducting research with such clients may outweigh the additional demands. Dont leave it sitting in your email inbox for weeks. With this issue, theres no right answers; but one thing I would say is to try and have a few from each if you can. You can follow her on twitter@slhedge. Make it easy for students to see the inclusion/exclusion criteria. Letting students see me as a human, with real smiles and a stupid haircut, went a long way towards making them feel comfortable enough to volunteer. Axelrod speaks from experience. Find a way to make survey links visible in long solicitation emails. Look for opportunities where participating in your project can benefit students as much as possible. Federal guidelines require that IRB approval last only one year--so if your project will last longer, you'll need to reapply in plenty of time to continue your research seamlessly. Keep surveys short and to the point. You dont want to put people under pressure to take part, or feel coerced in any way. And as with the start of all relationships it needs to be done with care, sensitivity, and attention. Students are also forgetful, and quick to delete emails that look like they arent important. * Keep it simple. I am a researcher from the University of Essex and I am running a research study that involves photographing food that you eat and throw away for 8 days. Also, for many participants, there can be a great deal of value and meaning in contributing to the development of improved mental health treatments and services for all. Some general pointers about recruitment materials: Proof them, proof them, proof them and then get a few friends/colleagues to proof them, proof them, proof them. So if you know someone who has contact with prospective participants, you may want to ask them if they can help you in the recruitment process. "Usually, that's not going to happen." Recruitment will not happen to you. A student who wants to study some aspect of arthritis, for example, might look to the National Arthritis Association for support. A research or clinical supervisor, for instance, might have a wide network of people theyd be willing to forward an email on to, or to post on their social media sites. "There are a lot of benefits," says Axelrod, "but there are risks as well--which come into play if the person you're working with falls down on the job or gets ill." Be sure to give yourself a safety valve, he advises. "A lot of people assume that, especially if they use the undergraduate participant pool, they'll get it done in two weeks. During my classroom visits, I directed students to the survey instead of to me, adding an extra step to the process. The challenges of recruitment with a particular group, however, do need to be weighed up against the value of what research with them will accomplish. Advertisements in newspapers, magazines etc. So if that is a potential impact of your study (and youve got a coherent strategy for achieving it) you can make that clear in your recruitment materials. Are you a caregiver interested in increasing your physical activity and using a fitness app? Dont be pushy. So recruitment is not something we do to prospective participants; its a way, if you like, of initiating a relationship. When there are a large number of inclusion/exclusion criteria it is sufficient to state any generalisable criteria within the poster and include more specific details in the Information Sheet so as not to confuse or put off potential participants. Be sensitive: for instance, putting a research request on Twitter for people who have been traumatised could trigger all sorts of responses in some peoplemany of whom may never actually get in contact with you. If your prospective participants are anything like me, theyll be really put off by misspelt emails or slapdash flyers which seems to change font half way through. First issue, of course, is where the blockage might be. Try sending an email with a blurb about you and your research, so the students can get to see the person behind the request. If youre like me, for instance, youll hate getting very generic research invites that have obviously just gone out to hundreds of people. Of course, as above, you dont want to be pushy, and you also need to be explicit about any potential risks. Instead, he suggests, consider the proposal defense an opportunity to receive feedback from experts on how your project could be improved. Perhaps its a fear of rejection; perhaps an anxiety about receiving without givingkind of like pleading people to do something. So try to get a balance between being friendly but professional. You cant do recruitment if youre metaphorically hiding behind a wall somewhere, secretly hoping that no-one will notice you. Finding a contact person who can give you a sense of where your application is in the process can go a long way toward easing your mind, he suggests. Supervisors generally have the experience to nip things in the bud early on, and may have ideas you have not previously thought of. Better yet, Krieshok says, is to complete the dissertation before internship. For instance, is it that no one is making initial contact with you about your research; or is it that they are, but then not following up when you reply. You can always ask. Still, I found it to be unnecessarily stressful trying to stay on top of it--I wish I had gotten my data collected before internship.". So approach prospective participants with a spirit of genuine openness and dialogue. So, for instance, you could invite people who may be interested to click on a hyperlink (for instance, to a Google Doc) where they can leave their email address to be contacted (make sure it is all GDPR compliant), or you could suggest that they email you for more information before making any commitment. Are you hitting the timelines you set for your different strategies, and what kinds of responses are you getting? Some may expect elaborate, PowerPoint-enhanced presentations while others aim for a free-flowing conversation. If a prospective participant gets in touch with you, respond. Students may decide to sign up days or even weeks after first solicited, once they have gotten used to the idea. Here are some things to think about: * Concurrent data collection. I decided to visit the classes my participant pool was selected from, and with instructor permission gave a short, awkward speech about me, my research interests, and the study in general. Have your email address, for instance, in big and bold on the recruitment email, or a hyperlink for people to click on to sign up. Incentives dont arent just participate for a chance to win a $5 iTunes card!, although they can be. How can you survive and even thrive at the first public airing of your research plan? But if, after a few weeks, youre still not getting any eligible volunteers, it might make sense to start looking at what adjustments you might want to make. My name is Tamara, I am a PhD student at the University of Salzburg in Austria. "When I did my dissertation research I found participants at senior centers," he says, "and I said that for every 10 people who signed up I'd donate $20 to the coffee fund. And, importantly, also ask yourself, What kind of research recruitment materials make me instantly hit delete? For instance, is it when youre not clear what theyre asking you to do, or if it seems to go on and on with ever-finer details? But there are drawbacks. Where student data is being used as part of the research the continued access and utilisation of the data must be expressly approved by the Academic Registrar after discussion with the Dean of Faculty and then approved by the Ethics Committee. * Who will collect your data. For instance, if you were looking at the experiences of clients with a particular condition (say counselling for sight loss), you might want to approach service user groups in the US, Canada, and Australia, as well as in the UK (with, of course, the necessary ethical approval in place). This is especially important for material likely to be seen by vulnerable groups, and especially for advertisements that are to be published in large circulation magazines etc. Recruitment materials are, essentially, the adverts that you put out there to attract interest. When you write up your research project, being able to report that you used research, itself, to direct your methodological choices can look very impressive. So, for instance, if you can go along and do a talkeven 5 minsat a service user group, or chat to people over a conference poster, that might really help with response rates. * Find a contact person. And bear in mind that some times you wont know that youre coming across in that way, even if you dont mean too. 31, No. The information, materials, opinions or other content (collectively Content) contained in this blog have been prepared for general information purposes. Here, as above, youre striving to strike a balance between having a scope that is broad enough for successful recruitment, but narrow enough to make your research project meaningful and coherent. Making contact with prospective participants through professional, training, or service delivery organisations is another way of reducing the anonymity of your request and enhancing its legitimacy. Information to be distributed via methods such as Twitter, Facebook or other social media should (within the restrictions of the medium) meet with all requirements in guidelines for posters. Its best not to just leave things, and expect things to get better without some support. Theres just too many opportunities for biases and demand characteristics to creep in. * Double the time you think it will take. * Find out what your chair and committee expect. With your IRB approval in hand, you're ready to start signing up participants. You might find a particular rare disorder fascinating, says Axelrod, but you could be out of luck unless there happens to be a medical unit nearby with 50 of those patients available. After all, if you cant put enough care into getting your spelling right, whats that going to say about how youll treat your participants? The dissertation proposal defense is the first formal meeting of your dissertation committee. Also, he suggests, look for creative ways to compensate nonundergraduate participants for their time. Communicate your passion and excitement for your work, and for learning from your prospective participants. If your recruitment strategies arent working, dont panic! Its nearly always better to personalise your approach: to individuals, to particular groups, to sectors of the population. But there may be workarounds: instead of conducting the entire survey online, hang out in the student center and do some old fashioned face-to-face surveying. Send reminder emails about meetings, particularly if they are scheduled more than a week in advance. There are lots of ways to work within your specific IRB rules and regulations to find support. With your kids screaming in the next room! Photo: Maya, by Daniel Walford. Having said that, help participants see the potential benefits of taking part: to themselves, to the therapeutic field, to their wider communities. All staff and student projects that propose the use of block emails to send unsolicited requests for recruitment to research projects or for participation in research such as online questionnaire completion are subject to full ethical review by the relevant ethics committee. You are under no obligation to reply to this post, however if you choose to, participation in this research is voluntary and you may withdraw at any time.'. Understandably, people may be less likely to respond to your research request if they dont know who you are. Yes, its hard work; yes, it can be a struggle; but the sense of satisfaction, excitement, and sheer relief you can get from having all your data finally collectedand in a robust, ethical, and caring wayis second to none. Pay attention to the details of the IRB process--like what forms are due when and what precise information is required, says Leach. Encourage students to practice good research karma for future projects. * Remember the committee is there to help. Remember, too, that of the many people who are potentially available to take part, many wont. Its an obvious thing to reiterate, but its essential to treat prospective participants with courtesy and respect. Although you dont want to spam or harass anyone, try sending your solicitation email out on a regular scheduleonce a week, for example. If you are wanting to recruit clients into your study, one way of reaching them is through counsellors and psychotherapists. Find intuitive, user-focused software for surveys. Remember, chances are theyre looking for reasons not to take part rather than reasons to; so you need to consider what the incentives might be and make those explicit. If widening your recruitment strategies still isnt working, you may need to revisit your participant group and, with it, the specific question youre looking at. So, for instance, although clients may be more difficult to recruit than therapists, they can give much more valuable answers to particular research questions (for instance, How do clients experience therapists self-disclosures?). * Explain your research rationale in layperson's terms. Once you've got your research plan, it's time to get approval from your school's institutional review board (IRB) or Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), an important step students sometimes overlook. One workable option may be to ask psychotherapists and counsellors to pass on a flyer to their clients giving them information about your study, and then the clients can contact you, in their own time, if they are interested. Although I was only looking for 10 participants out of a potential pool of 650, it took me four weeks to recruit the number I needed. 3 Questions for Yales New Associate Provost for Academic Initiatives, Jenny Frederick, Ask the Administrator: Trying Not to Hire Jerks, Arizona Global Campus Absorbs Its Outsourced Online Program Manager, New Survey of Student and Parent Views on Value of College, New Paper Finds College Vaccine Mandates Saved Lives, Professor Suspended for Profane Video Agrees to Retire, Eckerd College President Resigns, Citing Exhaustion. In such cases, it must be clear to the recipient which distribution list is being used. He and other psychologists offer a few IRB tips: * It's all in the details. All recruitment emails should include a statement to indicate that use of the mailing list to recruit participants has received ethical approval (including the name of the relevant committee). Tailor discussions of projected benefits to specific classrooms or situations. Posters displayed in other institutions (although recruitment on NHS premises may sometimes require NHS REC approval, and usually R&D Office approval from the relevant NHS Trust). [Image by Flickr userroboppyand used under Creative Commons license]. Professional counselling associations (e.g., BACP, UKCP, BPS, BPS divisions): website notice boards, magazines, or research networks, Service user groups, networks, and charitiesboth national and locallike MIND or Triumph Over Phobia (see listing here), Blogs: for instance, write a blog about your planned research, or the background literature to it, for a relevant site; with a link if people are interested in following up, Students: there may be a system, for instance, for psychology undergraduates to participate in research, Physical notice boards (for instance, at universities or GP surgeries)although, in my experience, this is not a particularly fruitful method of recruitment, Snowball sampling: asking your participants to recommend further participants. Not all members of the IRB or IACUC will be psychologists, and none may be experts in your subject area, says University of Wisconsin psychology professor Charles Snowdon, PhD. The IRB protects the participants in your study from exploitation and ensures that your work is ethical, explains Axelrod. ", Advancing psychology to benefit society and improve lives, You've got your research plan in hand, your literature review is well on its way to completion, and now you're ready to dive into the core of your dissertation: It's time to collect data. So however fascinated you might be with your own research topic; remember that other people are outside of your head rather than inside of it: caught up in their own world of worries, tasks, and goals. So if you want to make sure your research project is a successful one, planning for recruitment is something you need to take seriously, right from the very start.