E³SUR
| Project name: | E³SUR: Exploring & Enhancing Efficient Survey Recruitment on Digital Platforms |
| Faculty: | Architecture and Civil Engineering |
| Head of the project: | Dr. Sebastian L. Grüner |
| Laboratory/Institute: | Rhine-Main Institute for Transformative Sciences in Mobility and Logistics (RITMO) |
| Duration: | 15.08.2025 - 30.06.2026 |
| Funding institution / client: | Hochschule RheinMain |
Project description
The willingness to participate in surveys is continuously decreasing, while the cost of obtaining valid data is increasing. Against this background, the E³SUR project is investigating efficient digital strategies for recruiting survey participants with the goal of reducing costs while ensuring reach and data quality. The starting point is three empirical studies at Hochschule RheinMain (HSRM), in which high costs per participant (€63.62 to €132.16) were incurred through analog recruitment strategies. The project aims to test alternative recruitment strategies via social media (especially Instagram and Facebook) in terms of reach, response (CPC) and success rate (CPP) and thus expand the existing literature on social media recruitment.
The planned quasi-experimental design compares four conditions in a 2×2 between-subjects design: survey type (one-stage vs. two-stage) and incentivization (with vs. without). The one-step variant forwards participants directly from an ad to the survey, while the two-step variant requires upstream registration to increase engagement. Incentives are optionally offered in the form of a competition with cash or shopping vouchers. The one-stage variant with incentive acts as a control group. A total of four groups are formed, each with 300 participants.
Online recruitment is targeted via digital ads, with target groups segmented based on socio-demographic and psychographic characteristics. In terms of content, users of micromobility services are again addressed in order to build on previous research experience. The duration of the survey will be limited to 10-15 minutes.
Transfer of results
The results will first be discussed at scientific conferences (e.g. ISCTSC, EMAC) and then published in national and international journals. The goal is to develop a practical, cost-efficient recruitment tool that can also be transferred to other research questions. In this way, E³SUR contributes to the methodological development of empirical research at universities of applied sciences and at the same time addresses the growing challenge of rising survey costs.
