In 1998-1999, an Internet survey was conducted to investigate sexual decision-making in a sample of 120 HIV-positive men who reside in the San Francisco Bay Area. That ethnographic research attempted to determine their rationales for decisions to engage in "barebacking" during sexual encounters with other HIV-positive men, primarily those who sought sexual partners through Internet chat rooms. The study was initiated after numerous reports in Bay Area media about the practice of "barebacking," and documented increases in rectal gonorrhea among gay men, presumably attributable to Internet chat room encounters. This paper presents reflections on the specific methods involved in conducting that study, as well as earlier Internet-based research. This paper assesses barriers to recruiting men to discuss their sexual and substance-using behaviors, as well as the strengths and challenges involved in conducting research using convenience samples via the Internet. Among the advantages of using chat rooms as a recruitment mechanism was that they assured anonymity—even when telephone and personal interviews ensued. In this research, it was possible to contact and interview men who acknowledged they would not have agreed otherwise to discuss their personal behaviors, which have been significantly stigmatized and sensationalized by the media. However, the methodological weaknesses cannot be discounted. Convenience samples potentially provide only anecdotal data. Furthermore, this recruitment method discriminates based on economic status and access to and facility with computers, thereby impeding attempts to generalize findings. Nonetheless, the Internet facilitated communication with a "hidden" high-risk population that may not be accessible by other means.
Learning Objectives: • Identify and discuss strengths and weaknesses of Internet-based research in a difficult-to-reach population
Keywords: Research, HIV Risk Behavior
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.