Building Electronic Bridges to Hard to Reach Populations

Despite advances in online research methods, there are still significant challenges in sampling certain populations. These challenges include the concealed nature of stigmatized identities, lack of access to the internet, or living in rural or remote geographic locations. In this interactive discussion, we will focus on research with hard-to-reach populations, and successes and challenges encountered while using online methods to recruit participants and gather data. Each of the presenters will briefly talk about different experiences recruiting sexual and gender minority participants in rural areas using online methods. We welcome researchers who have worked with other hard-to reach population, those who are interested in doing so, and those who have used other methods of sampling and data collection using new technology to share their experiences. We will also break into small groups to discuss how recruitment and data collection are made more complex when targeting multiple intersecting marginalized identity statuses that, combined, make them particularly vulnerable to being understudied. Finally, we will collaboratively construct a list of strategies and resources to share with session attendees at the conclusion of the session.