Selection of Participants
Including diverse, representative samples leads to more comprehensive, conclusive, and applicable results that benefit all stakeholders. Researchers can make their projects more FAIR by moving away from convenience sampling. Instead, research teams should think about Chicagoland demographics to help inform recruitment and sampling strategies to include diversity in participants based on: race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, age, geography, and income. By having diverse participants in your study, the risks and benefits of research are shared by all.
Methods for improving participant outreach and equity and breaking down barriers for research participation:
- Use tools that maintain more diverse demographic samples for data collection (YouGov, Qualtrics Panels, eSurveys)
- Extend clinical research opportunities after traditional business hours
- Budget for participant parking
- Devise methods to reach lower-income individuals without computers