Respondent-Driven Sampling in Participatory Research Contexts: Participant-Driven Recruitment

Abstract

This article reports on the use of respondent-driven sampling (RDS) in participatory and community-based research. Participant-driven recruitment (PDR) retains all of the analytic capabilities of RDS while enhancing the role of respondents in framing research questions, instrument development, data interpretation, and other aspects of the research process. Merging the capabilities of RDS with participatory research methods, PDR creates new opportunities for engaging community members in research addressing social issues and in utilizing research findings within community contexts. This article outlines PDR's synthesis of RDS and participatory research approaches, describes how PDR is implemented in community contexts, and provides two examples of the use of PDR, illustrating its process, potentials, and challenges.

‘Life under the tent is not safe, especially for young women’: understanding intersectional violence among internally displaced youth in Leogane, Haiti

“…We hired six peer researcher assistants who were internally displaced youth; they included three young men (aged 18, 20, 23) and three young women (aged 18, 21, 24). We used peer-driven sampling methods [30,31], whereby peer researcher assistants invited youth from their social networks to participate in FG using snowball sampling and word-of-mouth techniques. Peer-driven sampling methods are appropriate for contexts where potential participants experience marginalization and populations may be harder to access [30,31].…”

“…We used peer-driven sampling methods [30,31], whereby peer researcher assistants invited youth from their social networks to participate in FG using snowball sampling and word-of-mouth techniques. Peer-driven sampling methods are appropriate for contexts where potential participants experience marginalization and populations may be harder to access [30,31]. To reduce bias we hired 6 peer researcher assistants of different ages, residence locations, and education levels, and limited to 10 the number of participants each peer researcher assistant could invite.…”

Stories from Lake Volta: The lived experiences of trafficked children in Ghana

“….." (p. 1). Although participatory research is noted for its involvement of participants at every stage of the research (Tiffany, 2006), Cornwall and Jewkes (1995) suggested that the degree of participants' involvement can vary depending on the aim of the research. In this study, participants were actively involved in data generation through the telling their stories.…”

Sampling and sex trading: Lessons on research design from the street

“…Several studies in the United States have also used RDS to develop samples of people who trade sex (Curtis et al, 2008;Williamson & Perdue, 2012). Tiffany (2006) has demonstrated that RDS is highly compatible with participatory research in a synthesis she refers to as participant-driven recruitment (PDR). PDR capitalizes on common ground of RDS and participatory approaches in local knowledge, peer-to-peer recruitment, and social networks (Tiffany, 2006).…”

“…A meditation practice also helped me sustain equanimity in the face of adversity and setbacks. The process articulated what I now know is a strong AR principle to seek contextual and appropriate meanings of validity and rigor using the best possible research methods (Greenwood, 2008;Stringer, 2007;Tiffany, 2006). We were not able to use statistical modeling in our sampling methods.…”