Data or Deception: Imposter Participants in Online Qualitative Research

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Abstract
Online recruitment and data collection in qualitative research grew significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, revealing a host of benefits including cost and time savings for researchers and participants. However, significant risks and limitations exist when recruiting and interviewing participants online. ‘Imposter participants’ have emerged, seemingly incentivized by study honoraria. These imposter participants invoke significant administrative burdens and call into question data integrity and researcher commitment to equitable and inclusive sampling. This article features insights drawn from experiences of conducting online recruitment for a Canadian photovoice study of men’s mental health and peer support in three themes: (1) Gone Phishing: Detecting and Deterring Imposters, (2) Screening for Subterfuge: Balancing Integrity and Inclusivity, and (3) Fraud Fatigue: Researcher Strain and Drain. The first theme, Gone Phishing: Detecting and Deterring Imposters, outlines processes for identifying imposter participants, including technological tools and human strategies. Screening for Subterfuge: Balancing Integrity and Inclusivity chronicles ethical implications and researcher adaptions for ensuring that authentic eligible participants are not inadvertently excluded. The third theme, Fraud Fatigue: Researcher Strain and Drain, details the workload and distress that researchers can face in dealing with imposter participants, while thoughtfully considering avenues for reducing these potential harms. Findings across these themes underscore the potential for imposter participants to increase project costs and compromise data integrity for online qualitative research. Implicating the need for strategies, recommendations are made for supporting researchers and upgrading university systems to improve security and risk management guidelines for managing imposter participants, especially in the wake of artificial intelligence–generated scams.
Funding Information
  • Government of Canada’s New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRFR-2022-00308)
  • Michael Smith Health Research BC Research Trainee Award
  • Canadian Institutes of Health Research Fellowship
  • SSHRC (NFRFR-2022-003080)
  • Canada Research Chair in Men’s Health Promotion

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