No Field Without Access: Recruitment as a Core Component of HCI Field Studies

Due to the often-times small sample sizes and high heterogeneity within specific groups of people, the targeted selection and recruitment of suitable participants is a central component of field research. A careful recruitment strategy is crucial in order to gain access to relevant, specific and often-times vulnerable groups to generate a diverse sample that corresponds to the complexity of sociotechnical systems in field research. Hence, recruitment processes need to be scrutinised in their placement, wording and inclusion/ exclusion criteria to not only consider demographic characteristics but also social and contextual factors that can influence willingness and ability to participate. The presented empirical accounts and scholarly reflections emphasise that recruitment is an integral part of the research process with direct implications for the diversity in research participation and hence realistic embedding of researched technologies. Within the methodological discussion of conducting field studies in HCI, recruitment should not be treated as a separate or preliminary step and must be reflected as part of the methodological design and the communication of results.