Onikia Brown, Virginia Quick, Sarah Colby, Geoffrey Greene, Tanya M. Horacek, Sharon Hoerr, Mallory Koenings, Tandalayo Kidd, Jesse Morrell, Melissa Olfert, Beatrice Phillips, Karla Shelnutt, Adrienne White and Kendra Kattelmann
Recruiting college students for research studies can be challenging. The purpose of this paper is to describe the lessons learned in the various recruitment strategies used for…
Abstract
Purpose
Recruiting college students for research studies can be challenging. The purpose of this paper is to describe the lessons learned in the various recruitment strategies used for enrolling college students in a theory-based, tailored, and web-delivered health intervention at 13 US universities.
Design/methodology/approach
The community-based participatory research (CBPR) model was used to develop a staged-tailored, web-based, randomized control trial, focussing on eating behavior, physical activity, and stress management. Participant feedback during baseline assessments was used to evaluate recruitment strategies.
Findings
Findings from this feedback suggest that traditional recruitment strategies, such as newspaper ads and flyers, may not be the best approach for recruiting college students; instead, web-based efforts proved to be a better recruitment strategy.
Research limitations/implications
This project included results from 13 US universities and thus may not be generalizable: more research is needed to determine successful recruitment methods for 18-24 years old college students.
Originality/value
This paper lessens the gap regarding successful recruitment strategies for 18-24 years old college students.