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Recruitment strategies

OverviewCommon recruitment approachesChoosing a recruitment strategyApproach to potential participantsWhat reviewers look forRelated resources

This article is part of the Iris Ethics Knowledge Base; you can find a directory of all articles here.

Overview

Recruitment strategy refers to how researchers identify and approach potential participants. The National Statement requires that the recruitment strategy be relevant to the methodology, topic and context (NS 3.1.12), that researchers describe and justify their approach to potential participants (NS 3.1.18), and that all recruitment materials be approved by the review body before use (NS 5.2.15). The level of detail reviewers require should be proportional to the foreseeable risks and appropriate to the methodology (NS 3.1.18).

Common recruitment approaches

Common approaches in market research, social research and evaluation settings include:

  • Panel recruitment: using commercial research panels to identify participants meeting specified criteria. Panel-based recruitment raises specific issues around incentive disclosure and consent; see Market research panels and Consent in different contexts.
  • Purposive sampling: identifying and approaching individuals with specific characteristics relevant to the research or evaluation questions, often via gatekeepers such as service providers, employers, or community organisations. This may require consideration of how existing relationships and the potential for coercion will be managed.
  • Snowball sampling: existing participants refer other potential participants, or share study information within their networks. This approach raises specific concerns about privacy, unsolicited contact and relationship-based pressure that must be addressed in the ethics application; see Snowball sampling for detailed guidance.
  • Public advertising: seeking participants through public channels (websites, social media, community noticeboards). Advertising materials require review body approval (NS 5.2.15).
  • Database sampling: contacting individuals from organisational or administrative databases. The basis for accessing and using those databases must be addressed, including any privacy or consent requirements.

Choosing a recruitment strategy

The National Statement requires researchers and reviewers to consider a consistent set of factors when developing a recruitment strategy, regardless of which approach is used (NS 3.1.17): the potential for coercion or exploitation; risks to participants arising from recruitment itself; privacy matters relating to identifying and contacting people; the effect of existing relationships (such as hierarchical relationships between researcher and participant) on recruitment; and whether the people conducting recruitment (including co-researchers) are familiar with the National Statement.

A single project may use more than one recruitment strategy, particularly where discrete cohorts are needed to meet the research objectives. Where this is the case, each strategy should be described and justified separately, and the combination of strategies should be considered as a whole for its overall effect on the voluntariness of participation (NS 3.1.20).

Approach to potential participants

The initial approach to potential participants must respect their autonomy. Information about the research or evaluation should be provided in a form that enables informed decision-making, and the approach should make clear that participation is voluntary. Scripts for initial contact, invitation letters, and related materials require ethics review body approval before use (NS 5.2.15; NS 3.1.19).

What reviewers look for

Reviewers expect the recruitment strategy to be described in enough detail to assess it against the questions in NS 3.1.17, not just named. In market research and evaluation applications, this typically means: identifying who the recruiter is and their relationship, if any, to potential participants; describing the actual wording or content of the first approach, not just the channel; explaining how the strategy was chosen over available alternatives, particularly for panel, snowball, or database-based approaches; and setting out how any payment to participants or recruitment intermediaries is structured. A recruitment strategy description that answers "how will this look from the participant's side" tends to satisfy reviewers more directly than one that only lists the channels used.

Related resources

This page was last updated on 9 October 2026.

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This article makes reference to the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research 2025. It is intended as practical guidance and does not constitute legal advice.

AI Disclosure: Resources in this library were prepared using Large Language Models with input from Iris Ethics staff who guided the scope and design. Subsequent revisions and final versions were developed and approved by Iris Ethics staff.