The rise of digital platforms has transformed the way researchers recruit participants. “Platforms” means not only social media channels such as X, Facebook and Instagram, but also specialized participant-recruitment websites.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, online recruitment and data collection became a vital method for researchers to maintain a safe distance and protect both participants and their own health. The shift also enabled participation in research from virtually anywhere. Online methods have proven both efficient and cost-effective, by eliminating travel expenses, reducing logistical overhead and allowing researchers to reach larger participant pools more swiftly.
However, a new problem has emerged:
imposter participants. These are individuals who pretend to meet the eligibility criteria for research studies, presumably to gain compensation, jeopardizing the validity of the data — and presenting challenges for researchers.
A related problem is
“research bots” — AI bots that can automatically complete online surveys.
Our research team, focused on understanding feminism through the voices of women with intellectual disabilities, encountered challenges with impostor participants when recruiting research participants through social media. We’ve learned
valuable lessons about how to manage online research more ethically and efficiently.
Challenges in recruiting online
In our research, we quickly realized that imposter participants were infiltrating our recruitment process.
Many colleagues who are collecting and analyzing numerical data (“quantitative scholars”) have shared similar experiences with imposter participants, whether related to people who don’t meet research criteria or research bots.
In quantitative research, data collection is often anonymous or involves minimal direct interaction (such as filling out an online form).
By contrast,
qualitative research often includes more personal, in-depth exchanges, like one-on-one interviews, focus groups or extended participant observation. This occurs even in virtual settings, as researchers explore and interpret how individuals or groups assign meanings to social or human issues, and seek to build trust with research participants. This means,
for qualitative scholars,
the challenges surrounding imposter participants are more nuanced.
theconversation.com