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74NURSERESEARCHER2010,17,2issuesinresearchUsingsocialexchangetheorytoguidesuccessfulstudyrecruitmentandretentionSocialexchangetheorycanbeusedtoreduceparticipantattritionduringstudies,asLisaMcGregor,KarenParker,PamelaLeBlancandKathrynMKingexplainAbstractParticipantattrition(withdrawalorlossafterenteringastudy)isamajorthreattothecompletionofvalidstudies.Itcanresultinsystematicerror(selectionbias),thusdecreasingthestatisticalpowerofstudiesandlimitingthegeneral-isabilityofstudyfindings.Thispaperdemonstrateshowkeysocialexchangetheoryprinciplesformthetheoreticalcontextforourpractice,which,inturnenablesustoformenduringrelationshipswithstudyparticipants.IntroductionLongitudinalresearch,whetherquantitativeorqualitative,providesanoppor-tunitytostudythenatureandresultsofchangeaspeoplemovethroughdevelopmentalandtransitionalexperiences.Amajorbarrierinundertakinglongitudinalstudiesisensuringthatenoughparticipantsremaincommittedforthedurationoftheresearch(Ribisletal1996).Participantattrition–withdrawalorlossafterenteringastudy–isamajorthreattothecompletionofvalidstudiesthatrendergeneralisableortransferablefindings.Thedetri-mentaleffectsofattritiononthevalidityoflongitudinalstudieshavebeenwelldocumented:itcanresultinsystematicerror(selectionbias)–thusdecreasingthestatisticalpowerofstudies–andlimitthegeneraliabilityofstudyfindings(Ribisletal1996).keywordssocialexchangetheorylongitudinalstudyparticipantrecruitmentparticipantretention▲▲▲▲NURSERESEARCHER2010,17,275Tominimiseattrition,researchersmustunderstandthemechanismsinvolvedinparticipantrecruitmentandretention.Manyofthestudiesundertakenthroughourresearchofficehaveinvolvedon-siteparticipantrecruitmentinanacutecarehospital,followedbytelephone-basedlongitudinaldatacollec-tion.AnexemplarofourresearchapproachistheWomen’sRecoveryfromSternotomyTrial(WREST)(Kingetal2006).Withthismulti-centreclinicaltrial,weexaminedtheuseofanovelcompressionundergarmentinwomenfollowingfirst-timesternotomy.ThreehundredandeightyfivewomenfromtenhospitalsitescompletedWREST,whichinvolvedtelephonedatacollectionatninepointsoverthreemonths.Recruitingalargenumberofparticipantsandretainingparticipationrequiredguidelinestomaketheprocedureaseffectiveaspossible.BasedonourexperiencewithWREST,weadvocatetheincorporationofsocialexchangetheory(SET)principles(Homans1961)intorecruitmentandretentionpro-cessestoenhanceparticipantstudycommitment.ThispaperdemonstrateshowkeySETprinciplesformthetheoreticalcontextforourpractice,whichinturnenablesustoformenduringrelationshipswithstudyparticipants.MaximisingcostsandminimisingbenefitsSincetheinceptionofSETinthe1960s,ithasbeenusedtoexplainhumaninteractioninawidevarietyofcontexts(Homans1961).SETembracestheprinciplethatindividualsvoluntarilyexchangeresources,believingthateachwillbenefit(Emerson1976).Aresourceisanythingthatcanbetransmittedfromonepersontoanother.FoaandFoa(1976)identifiedsixmaterialorsymbolicresourceclassesthatarerewardingingeneralsocialinteractions:nInformation.nServices.nStatus.nLove.nGoods.nMoney.Ifreciprocityhasoccurredinanexchangeandthetransactionismutuallyrewarding,along-termequitableexchangerelationshipcanoccur.Forrelat-ionshipstobemaintained,thebenefitsmustoutweightheperceivedcosts.76NURSERESEARCHER2010,17,2issuesinresearchJointactivitiesorsharedtasksbetweenpartnersgenerateemotionsthatinfluencethestrengthofcollectivetiesaswellasthelikelihoodoffutureinteraction.AccordingtoLawler(2001),emotionsconstituteapowerfulmotivatingforceinsustainingexchangerelationships,because‘feelinggood’frominteractionsisvaluedbyallparticipants.Whenrecruitingparticipants,wediscussthecostsandbenefitsassoci-atedwithstudyinvolvement,asopennessandhonestyenhancesuccess-fulexchangerelationships.Potentialcostsoflongitudinalresearchincludenumerouscontactpointsandpotentiallyrepetitiveandlengthyquestion-naires.Dependingonthenatureanddesignofastudy,researcherscanstressemotionalmotivatorsforinvolvement,includingtheopportunitytoadvancenursingcare,helpotherswiththeconditioninquestionandaccessanewtreatmentforadiseaseorcondition.Inaccordancewiththeemotion-basedelementsofSET(LawlerandYoon1998,LawlerandThye1999),increased,enjoyable,personalcontactwithresearcherscanalsomotivateparticipantstotakepartinstudies.Manyofourparticipantsweredisappointedwhentheirinvolvementinthestudyended–theyfrequentlyindicatedthattheyhadlookedforwardtoourcalls.Creatinganimmediateanddirectbenefittoparticipantsisnottheintendedpurposeofundertakingresearch,butisacceptableaslongasthereisnoethi-caldetriment.RetentionofparticipantsinlongitudinalstudiessuchasWRESTrequiresthatresearchstaffhaverepeatedpositivecontactswithparticipantsduringrecruitmentandfollowup.Takingpartinresearchisajointactiv-itythatparticipantssharewiththeresearchteam.Positivefeelingssuchasenthusiasmorsatisfactionareessentialinthemaintenanceofcohesivesocialexchangerelationshipsandinfutureinteractions(LawlerandYoon1998).Ourexperiencewithlongitudinalresearchcanalsobeevaluatedintermsofkeyresourceexchangesorbenefitsthatdriveinteractionsbetweenpartic-ipantsandresearchers.