Chapter 3: Recruitment- quantitative

In this section, you need to think details! It must be written in enough detail that someone else could replicate the study based on your description. This is always more difficult than you think it will be, you might find it helpful to talk through the section with someone, such as a classmate or spouse. Have them push you for as many details about it as possible.

The checklist is pretty vague in the specifics of this section. Let's start with how you will recruit- will you put up flyers? Send out emails? If you are sending out emails- where will you get the addresses? Make a note that you will need copies of all communications (flyers, emails) for the IRB and they will need to be in your paper's appendix. If you are planning to get emails from a company, institution, etc. you will need a letter of agreement from them spelling this out.

Once people contact you, what will you say to them? This needs to be written out. If you are sending them to a survey on a website, what will it include? What demographic information will you collect? Typically, you will want to know their sex, age, and maybe socio-economic status. This is collected so you will be able to describe who your sample is. There may be other information that you will want to know to confirm their eligibility to be in the study, perhaps marital status, part or full time work, etc.

Each participant will need to read and agree to a consent form (see the IRB website for a template). If they are completing an online survey, this is usually the first page of the survey. A copy will need to be sent to the IRB (when you do your IRB application) and be included in your paper's appendix.

Next, you need to describe how the data will be collected. Again, be very specific on how this will occur. Then you need to discuss if you will debrief your participants in some way (often done in in-person studies). This is where you would thank them for participating and give them an overview of the study, if it wouldn’t have been clear before. Again, a copy will need to be sent to the IRB of the debriefing and added to the appendix.

Finally describe any follow up procedures, such as their being contacted again in the future or having to return for any reason. 

Next time we will continue with quantitative studies and look at Chapter 3: Additional Information. Do you have an issue or a question that you would like me to discuss in a future post? Would you like to be a guest writer? Send me your ideas! leann.stadtlander@waldenu.edu