Magic bullet or questionable remedy? Discussing the use of Meta advertising to recruit hard-to-reach migrants for surveys

Abstract

As the world sees an increase in global migration, it is paramount to collect real-time data on migrants to facilitate their settlement in new countries. A major obstacle to capturing such information is that many migrants, such as refugees, are “hard-to-reach.” Traditional sampling methods often miss small and mobile populations and for this reason new methods are needed. Survey recruitment through Meta advertisements is one such approach. By means of an auto-ethnographic discussion, we offer practical insights into different methodological considerations that researchers must contemplate when using advertisements on Meta’s Facebook and Instagram platforms to sample refugees as hard-to-reach populations. Our exchange focuses on recruitment and response rate issues, ethical considerations, the validity of data shared, and the opaqueness of how ad targeting algorithms work. This is followed by some concluding observations.