Hi,
I plan to conduct some research into anti-discrimination law as part of my PhD studies in Australia. I would like to use Facebook and Twitter to elicit survey participants due to reaching a broader group of people and spreading the message quickly and cheaply.
Are there any published papers or your thoughts on problems with this technique? I am aware of Christine Brickman’s paper – Not By The Book – but are there others?
I understand there are consequences in terms of potential bias towards female participants and income / social status of users of social media. What are the problems and how can you work around these issues?
As another point does using social media to gather survey participants amount to a different methodology or is it just a technique for obtaining survey participants rather than a distinct methodology?
Thanks,
Dale.
Twitter: @DaleReardon
Blog: http://www.dalereardon.com.au