• It is the responsibility of the research team, when designing a protocol, to understand the social media site terms of use. In addition, study teams should be aware of any research or recruitment-related restrictions on the social media sites through which they intend to conduct their recruitment activities. This includes a site’s advertising, privacy and prohibited content policies.
  • It is the responsibility of the research team, when designing a protocol, to understand the various privacy and data security provisions of social media sites and ensure that these provisions are consistent with the IRB’s privacy and confidentiality guidelines.
  • In social media or other Internet-based research settings, recruitment information can be forwarded or otherwise accessible to other individuals who may not be part of the intended participant pool. Research teams, therefore, must exercise caution to appropriately identify the targeted participant population and to ensure the equitable selection of participants.
  • The IRB will review the content of social media recruitment materials according to existing IRB guidelines for traditional media recruitment such as flyers and news ads.
  • Recruiting via public and private groups is permitted. Study teams must be aware of any site restrictions or group-specific rules or restrictions on recruiting participants via groups.
  • Study teams are discouraged from using their personal social media accounts to purchase or place initial recruitment materials for studies.