Conducting Respondent-Driven Sampling with Ethnic Minority Populations: The State of the Field

Abstract

Ethnic minorities are often underrepresented in survey research, due to the challenges many researchers face in including these populations. Respondent-driven sampling (RDS) was developed in the late 1990s in order to investigate populations otherwise “hidden” from researchers due to a lack of extant sampling frames. RDS relies on individuals who recruit their fellow population members, allowing samples to grow through network linkages. RDS holds promise for recruiting ethnic minority respondents, and its use has steadily increased since the early 2000s. However, practicable guidance for implementing RDS with these populations is scarce. To address this methodological gap, I present the results of a scoping review of RDS studies targeting ethnic minority populations. I find that it is possible to conduct successful RDS studies with a range of ethnic minority populations. However, researchers intending to work with these populations must consider the intersectional nature of these populations’ “hiddenness”, including economic, educational, linguistic, legal, political, and social vulnerabilities, through all stages of the study design process.