%0 Journal Article
%T Recruiting and Retaining Young Urban Black Men in a Study of Violence: Procedures Used and Lessons Learned
%A Amy Irby-Shasanmi
%A Hadya Sow
%A Tamara G. J. Leech
%J Field Methods
%@ 1552-3969
%D 2019
%R 10.1177/1525822X19838285
%X We conducted a study about three common recruitment and retention obstacles facing scholars interested in racial disparities research: potential mistrust from the black community, a stigmatized research topic, and high participation burden. Nonetheless, we successfully recruited and retained 28 young black men in a three-month study of violence. In this article, we describe and explore the recruitment, engagement, and retention strategies employed during the study. Using a concurrent triangulation mixed-method design, we analyzed data from our web-based administrative system, participant enrollment and exit surveys, and team members¡¯ field notes. A large percentage (79%) of participants completed the study. We received 81% of 556 expected surveys, and 100% of the remaining participants wanted to continue participating at study¡¯s end. We conclude that internal incentives, the combination of informal and formal community recruiters, the visibility of the principal investigator, and face-to-face meetings may have contributed to the success of the project
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1525822X19838285