Background Recruitment and retention of adolescent research participants presents unique challenges and considerations when conducting epidemiological studies. Purpose To describe the use of the social networking website in the re-recruitment and tracking of adolescent girls into a follow-up study of the Trial of Activity for Adolescent Girls (TAAG) at the University of Maryland field site. Methods 730 girls were recruited as 8th graders into TAAG. Re-recruitment efforts were conducted when they were 11th graders (TAAG 2). Traditional methods, including mailings and school visits, were conducted. A TAAG 2 Facebook site was created to search for girls not found through traditional recruitment methods. Chi-square and t-tests were conducted to identify differences in characteristics between those found and “friended” through Facebook and through traditional recruitment methods. Results There were 175 girls we were unable to locate using traditional recruitment methods. Of these, 78 were found on Facebook, 68 responded to our friend request, and 43 girls (6% of the girls previously recruited) participated in the study. Demographic data were similar for those who friended us on Facebook and traditional methods. 8th grade body mass index and percent body fat were lower for those recruited from Facebook (p = 0.03 and 0.04, respectively). Number of daily minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity tended to be lower among the TAAG 2 Facebook friends (19 ± 11 vs 21 ± 11, p = 0.06). Conclusions Loss to follow-up was minimized by contacting potential participants through Facebook. Social networking websites are a promising method to recruit adolescents.

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There is limited research available in the area of science education for deaf children. In the twenty-first century, the importance of science and specifically scientific argumentation cannot be overlooked as a vital aspect of the curriculum. Current science teaching presents a range of difficulties for deaf students particularly when abstract concepts are delivered using a didactic approach with a reliance on text books. Research also identifies that inferencing skills and the language needed to articulate findings are often underdeveloped in deaf students. This review discusses the need for teaching and testing methods to be adapted to suit the learning needs of deaf students to provide them with the opportunity to learn and demonstrate their knowledge in a manner which is not solely dependent on their literacy skills. In the concluding paragraphs it is suggested that by using analogy-based role play in science teaching, teachers are able to create a learning environment which allows participation with the abstract and enables students to explore scientific concepts which ordinarily could not be seen. It is further suggested that this teaching approach could equip deaf students with the knowledge and skills needed to develop scientific argumentation by allowing them to visualize and make links between concepts and ultimately raise their engagement and attainment in science.

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