Recruitment Methods for Researchers
Recruitment Methods for Researchers
Support in recruiting for your study.
Recruitment of Study Participants
Scientific progress depends on successful recruitment and retention of participants in research studies. Often the most difficult and challenging aspect of conducting research studies can be the execution of efficient and effective recruitment and retention strategies of research study participants. Implementing these strategies can dramatically contribute to increased workload and complexity of managing research studies but can be pivotal to the success of achieving key research objectives.
It is also important to design a protocol that will clearly identify the study population and allow for easy identification and enrollment of participants. Complex protocols should be reviewed for recruitment feasibility. If the complexity is not necessary for answering the scientific question, then the researcher should consider revising the protocol for easier participant recruitment.
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Register with ResearchMatch as a researcher for feasibility and recruitment access.
ResearchMatch is a secure NIH-sponsored volunteer registry that is available to all research team members at Ohio State. By registering as a researcher on ResearchMatch, researchers automatically obtain feasibility access and may view and search aggregate data within ResearchMatch.
ResearchMatch is also available in Spanish.
Those researchers who go on to obtain IRB approval for recruitment access within ResearchMatch will be able to contact the many locally and nationally registered volunteers.
Researchers should rely on the Institutional Liaison for help with writing the recruitment message that will be sent to ResearchMatch volunteers.
To learn more, email:
Recruitment and Retention Program Manager
Recruitment and Retention Coordinator
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StudySearch was created to enhance visibility and participation in research studies conducted throughout Ohio State. It provides an easy way for potential study participants to find basic, descriptive information about openly recruiting research studies and trials at Ohio State and provides them with contact information.
Nationwide Children's researchers can view a list of NCH studies.
If you would like to post your study on StudySearch or have any questions, please email Mary.Becker@osumc.edu and Clara.Kalis@osumc.edu
Social Media Recruitment
The CTSI Recruitment and Retention Office offers social media advertising consultations to researchers and investigators who are interested in advertising their studies to attract more participants.
Targeted social media ads allows researchers to utilize the Meta Ad System. Meta Ads will be hosted on the CTSI Meta Ad Account once they have been IRB approved. As part of the ad, researchers will choose a target audience, a total budget and the duration of time the ad will run.
Building a target audience is done by determining specific characteristics of the audience you want to target with the ads (the characteristics of the potential participants). Meta will then attempt to display that post on the Facebook and Instagram newsfeeds of those that fit the demographics selected (such as age, location, interests, behaviors, etc.)
After an ad has completed running, you will be provided with performance metrics so that you can best determine your recruitment goals.
If you are interested in recruiting with Meta advertising, request a consultation with our Recruitment and Retention team.
MyChart for Recruitment
MyChart for Research Recruitment allows investigators to notify patients directly about research opportunities. By working with the Center for Clinical and Translational Science’s Recruitment Office and Research Informatics Services, researchers can design a search for potential volunteers that can be identified from the electronic health record information repository.
The identified patients’ medical record number will be sent to an honest broker who will send a message containing a study description to patients via the patient portal. The patient may communicate directly with the study team through in-basket messaging.
Participant Retention Planning and Recruitment of Study Participants
The expectations of the number of visits, length of visits, tasks involved at each visit, duration of the overall study and potential costs should be clearly discussed with the potential participant prior to enrollment. If the trial is a randomized placebo or comparative controlled study design, then extra attention should be given to this discussion. All these aspects of participating in a research study can dramatically impact the participant’s willingness or ability to commit to the full length of the study.
Study participation is completely voluntary, and participants can withdraw from the study at any time. Providing consistent and informative visit reminders in the form of a letter and phone call can be helpful to participants and may positively contribute to participant retention. Also, writing protocols that allow flexibility in study visits to accommodate the busy schedules of participants may also yield a higher retention rate.