Participant Recruitment for Qualitative Research: A Site-Based Approach to Community Research in Complex Societies

The process used to locate and recruit participants in a qualitative study is important for controlling bias and for efficiently obtaining a representative sample. In complex societies without clearly bounded groups from which to sample, participant recruitment requires especially careful consideration. Yet few qualitative researchers discuss their recruitment methods. This paper describes a site-based procedure for locating, selecting, and recruiting participants for qualitative research for communitybased research in contemporary societies. An example of this procedure applied in a study of nutrition and health among older adults of two rural counties in North Carolina is presented. Additional uses for this procedure are discussed.