Using respondent-driven sampling with 'hard to reach' marginalised young people: problems with slow recruitment and small network size

• Published in: International journal of social research methodology Vol. 17; no. 6; pp. 599 - 611
• Main Author: Bryant, Joanne
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 02.11.2014; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Australia; Detention; Drug Abuse; Drug addiction; Drug use; Drug users; Hard to reach; Homeless people; Homelessness; Incentives; Juvenile detention centers; Marginality; Networks; New South Wales; Recruitment; respondent-driven sampling; Respondents; Sampling; Seeds; Selection criteria; Willingness; young people; Youth
• ISSN: 1364-5579; 1464-5300
• DOI: 10.1080/13645579.2013.811921

This paper documents an experience of using respondent-driven sampling (RDS) to recruit socially marginalised young people in Sydney, Australia. Respondents were young people aged 16-24 years who were current illicit drug users and who reported at least one feature of social marginalisation (e.g. recent homelessness or juvenile detention). Four seeds initiated the sampling and 61 respondents were recruited until the sampling was closed due to slow progress at week nine. The paper examines: (1) the overall success of RDS and compares this with similar RDS studies; and (2) the sufficiency of network ties among respondents. The analyses suggest that RDS was generally successful in that, despite its small size, the sample achieved adequately long recruitment chains and variables converged to equilibrium. Nevertheless, recruitment was much slower than comparable studies. This could be due to the study population having reduced willingness to participate, a high proportion of respondents who did not fit the selection criteria, and small and disparate networks. Using RDS with marginalised youth may require generous resourcing to allow large incentives to increase willingness, and a lengthy recruitment period. Moreover, the small networks suggest that researchers should start the sampling with a large number of seeds.