Referrals from Personal Networks, Coworkers, and Other Participants - I

For some user groups, the best way to find participants is through personal contacts. This is especially true for finding participants on either end of the age scale. For example, parents are usually reluctant to put their children in unknown situations with strangers. Likewise, many older adults are less likely to be found in online sources and are skeptical about strangers phoning them to take part in user research. Some older adults can feel quite vulnerable and will be very leery of sales scams. So, if you want to have consumers in your
test who are under age 17 or over age 65, the best way is to ask your friends, family, and coworkers to put the word out and to make introductions so you may then contact these prospective participants without scaring them off.