Masters - Recruiting Potential Interviewees

I initially attempted to approach potential interviewees by placing online adverts regarding the study on well-known sites such as Gumtree. However, this tactic did not yield any suitable interviewees, the few replies I received were from people that appeared to be more interested in their own financial gain than assisting the study of pseudocyesis and also appeared to be only able to give vague details about their places of work and occupational history. I therefore excluded these potential candidates due to my concerns over their level of clinical training and clinical knowledge. The more fruitful attempt at approaching potential interviewees came from one to one conversations and encounters where I e-mailed and/or phoned specific clinical units to make enquiries about whether there would be any nurses interesting in contributing to the study. This admittedly proved frustrating at times with the majority of clinical units either being unresponsive or dismissive. However, a few positive replies did come and it was on securing my first interviewee that they themselves were actually able and willing to put me in touch with colleagues of theirs who would also prove to be willing to participate in the study. I made provisional checks of potential interviewees by asking when and where their experience with pseudocyesis took place and what clinical role they occupied at the time of that lived experience. The result was that I had six research participants willing to be interviewed at their convenience and detail their lived experience of treating a patient with pseudocyesis.