Abstract
Social networking sites have gained widespread popularity and remain a popular way of keeping in contact with others. Drawing on networked individualism, this paper argues that Facebook is beneficial for recruiting disabled participants spread over a wide geographical area. The aim of the article is to provide a comparison between using Facebook as a recruitment tool and the more traditional form of face-to-face recruitment via attending events for people with dwarfism. These were the two main forms of recruitment used to understand how people with dwarfism navigate through public spaces. This paper argues that Facebook is not just good for recruiting disabled participants, but also for disabled researchers to use as an accessible form of recruitment. However, building on recruitment experiences, including those influenced by a digital divide, this paper demonstrates that caution must be taken when trying to recruit participants using Facebook alone. This paper offers recommendations for researchers considering using Facebook as a recruitment tool.
Highlights
Social networking sites (SNS) are widely used by people around the world as a way of staying connected to friends and to build social relations amongst people with shared interests and backgrounds
This paper argues that Facebook provides an additional way to recruit disabled participants whose access to more traditional forms of recruitment can be problematic
A combination of contacting numerous organisations for people with dwarfism and attending events held by organisations, snowballing, and posting adverts on Facebook were all used as a way of recruitment
Summary
Social networking sites (SNS) are widely used by people around the world as a way of staying connected to friends and to build social relations amongst people with shared interests and backgrounds. As of 2020 Facebook had over 2.6 billion active users (Statistica 2020), making it one of the most popular SNS globally. Facebook allows people to create their own profile, upload photographs and videos, and comment on and share posts. Users can join various interest groups that are either open or closed to the public. The member is provided access to the group and can post on the group’s newsfeed, upload images and comment on other member’s posts. Facebook’s ability to connect with others makes it an interesting form of recruit for hard-to-reach participants, including disabled people
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