Dear Ada,
If you want to do this for free, I found that newspaper editors help prefer to add a very short (say 20 words) plea for help (along with the study weblink) in their letters page. I found the response rate to be poor though. I placed a plea for help or very small article in approx. 30 newspapers across the UK (with about 60 declining to help), and even with audiences of around 40,000 it only resulted in about 15-20 people taking part on the day the plea went out in a particular paper. I was quite surprised by this, but then I suppose you are requiring people to actually go to the computer and look at the website before they can even decide whether they want to take part. If you can convince the paper to print a larger informative article that you have written about depression in general and then ask for volunteers for your research, then this may work better. However, papers will still probably be reluctant to provide you with even a half page spread unless you have something important to shout about and report.
Good luck!
Kathryn

Dr. Kathryn Gardner
School of Psychology
Darwin Building
University of Central Lancashire
Preston, UK
PR1 2HE
Tel: +44(0)1772 89 4463
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>>> Ada Mackovova <[log in to unmask]> 11/04/11 8:52 AM >>>

Hi everyone,

I would like to ask if anyone has an experience of advertising your study in local newspapers with the aim to recruit participants. Would you mind to send me your successful examples, please?

My study is about decision making in depression and I need to target depressed people in the general population. They will be asked to participate in a brainstorming session. No drug or intervention is involved.

Thank you very much for advice, I really appreciate it.

Ada Mackovova

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