Using Social Media for Participant Recruitment in Early Childhood Education and Care Research: A Reflective Analysis

This methodological reflection examines the practical and ethical experiences of applying a constructionist methodological approach in a higher degree research project exploring Australian early childhood educators’ understanding of emotional intelligence (EI) and how it relates to their daily practice. Three key reflections emerged: navigating ethics approval, using social media as a recruitment tool and managing micro-ethical dilemmas related to geo-location and participant interactions in online environments. These challenges highlight broader issues identified in literature regarding ethical complexity, researcher reflexivity and navigation of digital spaces (Buchanan & Zimmer, 2012). The online ethics application presented additional layers of procedural nuance, providing an opportunity for professional learning. The use of social media was advantageous in reaching a wide range of early childhood education and care workforce, aligning with literature that digital recruitment can enhance accessibility (Gelinas et al., 2017) however complicated the intended scope and raised issues of clarity of selection criteria and management of participants. Given the content of the survey addressed sensitive topics around emotional strain, stress and burnout, the research underscored the importance of maintaining transparency and reflexivity when interacting in digital spaces. These insights contribute to existing discussions about ethical practice in early childhood research and the digital research context, particularly for novice researchers and research supervisors.