Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/1078860
INTERESTING RESEARCH LITERACY POINTS RELATED TO THE STUDY Survey research is a fundamental and important methodology in the progression of any field. While perhaps less exciting than clinical trials or experimental designs for applied fields such as massage therapy, survey research produces real-world, empirical data with higher potential for generalization due to its ability to cover a broader swath of the interest population in a relatively short time, and at relatively lower costs, than other types of research. 5 While survey data is typically more generalizable to broader populations, the authors highlight an important note that these survey responses may be biased toward the inclusion of, or referrals for, more health promotion messages within massage therapy practice due to the high education and experience of respondents. This potential for results skewing is likely also linked with a known sample bias in research generally that indicates those who are willing and interested in participating in research are often better educated, more experienced, healthier, and more generally engaged. On the flip side, those less likely to participate in research (survey or otherwise) are those with less experience and education, poorer health, and lower general engagement. This coupled with the seemingly increased efforts on the part of various technology- driven platforms to collect and use personal data for marketing purposes also makes people wearier of clicking links and actively providing additional information. This leads to a research challenge highlighted in the article and that also faces research in general: recruitment. Recruitment is one of the most difficult aspects of research, yet its challenge is often underappreciated by those not involved in research. It is very easy when thinking about research to fall into the trap of expecting "If you build it, they will come," whether the research is a clinical trial, survey, or otherwise. When I tell people about the research I do that involves participants actually getting multiple free massages, non-research people inevitably say something like, "You must have people tripping over themselves to be a part of that study!" Even when positively perceived participation incentives exist, recruitment is always hard for research, and in cases like surveys, in which it really is just people taking the time to complete them, there has to be some other SOMATIC RESE ARCH compelling reason for people to choose to participate. Indeed, with all the things competing for people's time in today's society, it's a wonder all surveys don't come with a cute kitten incentive video to try to increase participation! For this study, the authors report that over 3,900 emails were sent to potential participants and that at least 2,581 people saw social media recruitment posts. From those, only 182 surveys were completed and included in reporting and analysis. It is also notable that a much greater recruitment yield came from social media recruitment (~64 percent) rather than direct emailing to the PBRN pool. However, there was likely quite a bit of overlap between the audiences because some social media recruits came from the MassageNet Facebook page. Strategies to incentivize or otherwise encourage people to take the time to complete surveys and other types of research can be challenging. I hope the takeaway readers get from this point is to be good massage research citizens whenever possible. Participate in research; particularly those of the low "time cost" variety like surveys. Yo u r M & B i s w o r t h 2 C E s ! G o t o w w w. a b m p . c o m / c e t o l e a r n m o r e . 47