Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Commons^™

Imposter Participants: Overcoming Methodological Challenges Related To Balancing Participant Privacy With Data Quality When Using Online Recruitment And Data Collection, Jacqueline M. Roehl Phd, Darci J. Harland Phd

The Qualitative Report

In this paper we describe the lessons learned when untrustworthy participants were included in a qualitative interview study. In online research, participants can more easily misrepresent their identity and volunteer for studies even if they do not meet inclusion criteria. The term “imposter participant” refers to dishonest participants who completely fake their identities or simply exaggerate their experiences in order to participate in qualitative studies. Untrustworthy participants are a threat to data quality, yet little has been published on how qualitative researchers should prevent and handle this unique methodological challenge. In this paper, we provide a detailed account of how …