Recruiting participants for research from online communities.

Increasing numbers of people use the Internet for information and support about health and illness experiences. Likewise, researchers are increasingly turning to Internet communities as recruitment sites for research participants. Based on the use of online recruitment for a study of women living with lupus, the challenges and strategies associated with this method are discussed. How participants were obtained through posts on Web sites, the role of gatekeepers in accessing online communities, issues associated with list lurkers and posters, and challenges to authenticity when working with a sample recruited from this environment are covered, as are strategies for addressing identified problems.