Using Reddit as a recruitment strategy for addiction science research

Using Reddit as a recruitment strategy for addiction science research

Reddit is a forum-based social media and message board platform that has been used in the social sciences as a recruitment source of human subject data. In addiction science, Reddit remains a viable but underutilized tool, compared to other websites (e.g., Amazon's Mechanical Turk, Prolific). T...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of substance use and addiction treatment Vol. 148; p. 209011
Main Authors: Goodwin, S.R., Dwyer, M.J., Caliva, S.L., Burrows, C.A., Raiff, B.R.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01-05-2023
Subjects:
Addiction science
Alcohol Drinking
Alcoholism - therapy
Behavior, Addictive
Crowdsourcing
Humans
Reddit
Social Media
Crowdsourcing
Reddit
Addiction science
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Summary:Reddit is a forum-based social media and message board platform that has been used in the social sciences as a recruitment source of human subject data. In addiction science, Reddit remains a viable but underutilized tool, compared to other websites (e.g., Amazon's Mechanical Turk, Prolific). The purpose of this commentary is to provide a rationale and recommendations for the successful use of Reddit for addiction science researchers interested in adding it as a recruitment tool. We provide an example of how Reddit can be used to target specific populations of interest, such as individuals struggling with depression or alcohol use disorder. Last, we discuss the limitations of Reddit as a research tool and some considerations for future research to help promote effective use of the platform. •Reddit is a forum-based social media website with topic-specific subcommunities.•The specificity of these subcommunities allows for targeted research recruitment.•Researchers must be aware of Reddit’s rules and culture to optimize recruitment.•Reddit can serve as a valid crowdsourcing platform for addiction research.
Bibliography:content type line 23
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Correspondence-1
ISSN:2949-8759
2949-8767
2949-8759
DOI:10.1016/j.josat.2023.209011