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. 2023 May:148:209011.
doi: 10.1016/j.josat.2023.209011. Epub 2023 Mar 15.

Using Reddit as a recruitment strategy for addiction science research

S R Goodwin  1 , M J Dwyer  1 , S L Caliva  1 , C A Burrows  1 , B R Raiff  2
Affiliations

Using Reddit as a recruitment strategy for addiction science research

S R Goodwin et al. J Subst Use Addict Treat. 2023 May.

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Addiction science; Crowdsourcing; Reddit.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Note: Panel A (top) represents the mean (+/− standard error of the mean) DASS-21 depression subscale scores and the dashed line represents the cut off score for severe depression (21+ represents severe or extremely severe depression). Panel B (bottom) represents the mean (+/− standard error of the mean) AUDIT scores and the dashed line represents the cut off for alcohol use disorder (15+). Each column represents a different subreddit category. DASS-21 depression scores were highest among participants recruited from the Mental Health subreddits, whereas AUDIT scores were highest among participants recruited from the Alcohol subreddits, compared to subreddits unrelated to either topic (e.g., location, coronavirus, research). Note that different sample sizes within a category, but across measures, is due to differences in response completion for each measure.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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