9 Essential Participant Recruitment Questions (And Answers) for UX Teams

by | Oct 13, 2021 | UX Guide, Respondent Recruitment, User Research, User Testing, UX Strategy & Planning

Participant recruitment is one of the most important parts of running user research. Whether you’re testing a new feature, validating a design, or simply trying to understand your users better, your insights are only as strong as the people you speak to. 

We get a lot of questions about participant recruitment, especially from teams across Southeast Asia, where local context adds another layer of complexity. So in this guide, we’re tackling the most common questions we’ve heard over the years, with practical, real-world answers to help you plan smarter, recruit better, and avoid costly missteps—whether it’s your first study or your fiftieth.

1. How Many Participants/Respondents Is Enough?

This is hands down the most common question we get—and usually the very first one too. And the honest answer? It depends. The number of participants you need really comes down to the purpose of your study.

If you’re in the discovery phase, looking to explore user behaviours and mental models, a small number of in-depth conversations might be exactly what you need. On the other hand, if you’re testing a design that’s already been through a few rounds of refinement, your focus might be on validation so you’d recruit just enough users to catch major usability issues quickly.

For example, if you’re running a quick usability test to uncover friction points, around 5–10 participants can go a long way. But if you’re conducting a quantitative survey and aiming for statistically meaningful results, you’ll want at least 60 respondents—and ideally 150 or more, if your goal is deeper confidence in the data.

Of course, there are other factors at play too. Budget is a big one. And sometimes, it’s more effective to run your sessions in stages—test with a few people, make improvements, and test again—rather than go all in at once.

It’s not always a straightforward answer, which is why we’ve written a separate article that dives deeper into this very topic. If you’re still wondering what number is “just right” for your study, the article is a good read. Alternatively, check out this handy infographic to figure out what number of participants is best for you:

Usability testing sample size for Participant Recruitment: factors in deciding your sample size

2. Do We Really Need to Offer Incentives—and What Kind Works Best?

Yes, absolutely. Incentives should always be part of your participant recruitment strategy and not just as a “nice to have,” but as a meaningful way to reward people for their time and effort. Whether they’re setting aside an hour in their busy day or making the trip to join your session, an incentive adds value and shows you respect their contribution.

When it comes to what kind of incentive to offer, the rule of thumb is: keep it simple and usable. Cash is king. It’s fuss-free, universally appreciated, and easy to understand. People tend to appreciate something they can use right away, with as little restriction as possible. If cash isn’t feasible (say, due to company policy), alternatives like e-wallet reloads, gift cards, or digital vouchers also work well, just make sure they’re practical and accessible to your participants.

So how much should you offer? That depends on who you’re recruiting. If you’re working with a recruitment agency, they can usually advise you on the market rate based on your target profile. But if you’re handling recruitment yourself, consider the background of your participants. Higher earners—like doctors or executives—typically expect a more substantial incentive compared to, say, students or entry-level employees.

Also, if participants need to travel a considerable distance to attend, it’s thoughtful to provide separate travel reimbursement to make their journey easier.

The bottom line: an incentive is more than just a payment—it’s a way of saying, “Your time matters.” And when done right, it makes a big difference in both turnout and the quality of your sessions.

3. Should We Engage a Participant Recruitment Agency or Specialist?

The short answer? It depends on what kind of participants you need—and what you’re realistically able to handle on your own.

If you already have a list of users or customers to recruit from, you might be able to take care of it yourself. But participant recruitment isn’t always that straightforward. Maybe you’re thinking of reaching out to friends or family who are willing to help out. That’s fine—if they happen to match your recruitment criteria. But more often than not, they don’t. And if they don’t represent your actual users, the insights you get from them may not be useful, or worse, may lead you in the wrong direction.

That’s where a recruitment agency comes in.

If you don’t have the right pool to recruit from, or you’re short on time and resources, working with a participant recruitment agency or specialist can make a big difference. This is what they do every day. They’ll help define your criteria, prepare screeners, find the right people, make the calls, manage scheduling, send reminders, and most importantly, make sure the participants actually show up.

So ask yourself: Do I have the right people, tools, and time to recruit effectively on my own? If not, it’s probably worth handing it over to the experts.

4. Are All Participant Recruitment Agencies The Same?

So let’s say you’ve decided to enlist an agency to help with recruitment. The next question that naturally comes up is: which one should I go for? And more importantly—aren’t they all the same?

The short answer: no, they’re definitely not.

Every recruitment agency or specialist brings something different to the table. Some have access to massive respondent panels, sometimes with millions of people across different countries—which can be great if you’re running large-scale or international surveys. But if you’re after something more specific—say, orthopedic specialists, fintech early adopters, or even caregivers for stroke patients—those people are much harder to find.

That’s where niche agencies come in. Some agencies specialize in hard-to-find participants, and while they may not have sheer volume, they shine in sourcing very specific user profiles. Naturally, the rarer the profile, the higher the cost—but it’s a cost that reflects the effort, quality, and relevance of the respondents you’ll get.

So, when choosing a recruitment partner, think about who you’re trying to reach. Because the right agency for a broad consumer survey may not be the right fit if you need a very targeted or specialized audience.

5. If We Can Recruit Customers, What Channels Should We Use?

Let’s say we want to go the route of internal recruitment instead of hiring an agency. The two most common channels we usually consider are: website pop-ups and recruitment via social media. Both have their place so it really comes down to how you want to reach your users and which channel your target participants are most active in.

Using pop-ups on your website can work well, but there are a few things to think through. First, you’ll need approval to implement it and likely some support from your IT team. That alone can be a blocker. Then there’s the question of user experience where pop-ups run the risk of disrupting the visitor’s journey. You’ll need to ask: 

    • Where should it appear? 
    • Will it annoy or interrupt the visitor? 
    • And if it does, is that trade-off worth it, or would an email or a softer CTA make more sense? 

If done right, website pop-ups can be a useful recruitment method—but only if the traffic volume and user mindset are a good fit.

Then there’s social media—a channel that’s popular everywhere, especially across Asia. Whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or even TikTok, people are online and scrolling. This makes social media a great option for quick, cost-effective recruitment, particularly for surveys or broad outreach. That said, success depends heavily on having a clear strategy and choosing the right platform for your audience. If you’re targeting professionals, LinkedIn might be ideal. For younger users, Instagram or TikTok could be the way to go. Just be mindful that casting a wide net can also lead to disappointment if users express interest but aren’t selected.

In the end, it’s about knowing where your users are and how best to reach them, then making sure the invitation feels relevant, respectful, and worth their time.

Participant Recruitment: Recruitment Channel Considerations

6. How Do We Recruit the Right People—And Avoid the Wrong Ones?

Recruiting the right participants starts with a solid workflow—and if you’re new to this, don’t worry, it’s more manageable than it sounds.

Begin by defining clear participant recruitment criteria. Who exactly are you trying to reach? Be specific about traits like age, occupation, experience level, or even how they use a certain product or service. Once you’ve got that, the next step is to build a screener—a set of questions designed to filter out the participants who truly match your target audience.

As an extra precaution (and one we strongly recommend, especially for niche profiles), you can also call participants to verify their answers before confirming them. Some teams even reconfirm this at the start of the session with a few key questions, just to be safe.

Now, let’s talk about something that isn’t always discussed: professional participants. These are people who sign up for as many studies as possible—sometimes pretending to be someone they’re not just to qualify for the incentive. Unfortunately, it’s more common than you might think. In fact, there are even online guides created by these participants, openly sharing tips on how to trick screeners, change answers across platforms, and maximize invitations by faking their profile.

That’s why proper screening and validation is so important. To protect your study, make it clear from the start that false information or misrepresentation will disqualify them from receiving the incentive. It might seem like a small step, but being upfront helps deter dishonest signups and sets the tone for a more reliable session.

So while most participants are genuinely interested and trustworthy, it’s still crucial to put the right steps in place. A well-thought-out screener, clear criteria, and a bit of verification go a long way toward ensuring you’re hearing from the right people—not just the most persistent ones.

7. Do Participants Need to Be Active Users of the Product?

Not necessarily. Whether you need active users—or not—really depends on the context of your study.

If you’re looking to better understand your current customer base or test a new feature, then yes—recruiting active users makes sense. You’ll want people who are familiar with your product and have been using it regularly enough to give informed feedback.

But if you’re trying to uncover pain points, or understand why people stopped using your product, inactive users can actually give you the most valuable insights. They can help you see what went wrong, where expectations weren’t met, or what might have driven them to switch to a competitor.

So, don’t limit yourself only to active users—think about what you’re trying to learn. The right participants are the ones who can speak to the specific questions you’re trying to answer.

8. Should Survey Respondents/Research Participants Be Trained?

Let’s start by clarifying what we mean by training participants. It’s not about teaching them the topic or guiding their opinions, it’s simply about making sure they know what to expect and what to do during the session. Think of it as helping participants feel prepared so that the session runs smoothly, whether that’s knowing how to join a remote call, how to think aloud during usability testing, or understanding what their role is in the discussion.

While it’s not the norm to formally train participants, some participant recruitment agencies do provide light orientation ahead of time. It’s a way to ensure smoother sessions with fewer awkward silences, fewer technical hiccups (especially for remote testing), and participants who are more comfortable sharing feedback. This kind of prep doesn’t influence their responses, instead it helps them show up ready to participate fully.

That said, it’s more common not to train participants at all. Most researchers rely on a clear introduction and simple instructions at the start of the session. And for qualitative research like in-depth interviews or usability testing, it’s often the facilitator’s job to guide the participant—encouraging them to speak up, think aloud, or elaborate when needed.

Just keep in mind: adding even a basic pre-session briefing or checklist can slightly extend your recruitment workflow—but it may significantly improve the quality of feedback you get.

9. Should We Have Backup Respondents/Participants?

Yes, without a doubt. Having backup participants is one of those small precautions that can save you a lot of stress, especially when things don’t go as planned (which, let’s face it, happens more often than we’d like).

In Southeast Asia—particularly in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam—we’ve seen time and again that attendance rates are rarely 100%. Even if you’ve confirmed all 15 participants, something can still go wrong. Maybe someone falls sick, gets stuck in traffic, or simply forgets their session. Suddenly, you’re scrambling to find a last-minute replacement. That takes time, pushes the research timeline back, delays analysis, and often adds more cost to the project.

But if you have backup respondents ready to go, they can easily step in. No delay, no added hassle. It’s a simple safeguard, but one that can make a big difference in keeping your research (and your team’s sanity) on track.

That said, managing backup participants thoughtfully is just as important. Here are a few best practices we’ve found helpful:

  • Be transparent. Let them know upfront that they’re being recruited as backup participants.
  • Respect their time. Even if they don’t end up participating, it’s good practice to compensate them for blocking their schedule. If the main incentive is on the lower side, we recommend giving them the full amount. If the incentive is higher, offering half is a fair gesture—and still encourages them to keep the slot open.
  • Plan your backup day. Build in a buffer by scheduling your backup participants on the last day of your testing window. This gives you time to monitor attendance and inform them in advance whether their session will proceed or not.

It may feel like extra coordination at first, but it’s worth it. A smooth, well-prepared backup plan gives you breathing room and keeps the entire research process moving forward, even when the unexpected happens.

Final Thoughts

Participant recruitment isn’t just about filling slots—it’s about making sure the right voices are in the room (or on the call) when it matters most. From deciding how many people to recruit, to offering incentives, avoiding no-shows, or choosing between DIY and agency support, every step shapes the quality of your insights. While there’s no one-size-fits-all approach, having a clear process—and a few smart precautions—can make a huge difference. 

We hope this guide has helped answer some of your biggest recruitment questions (and maybe a few you didn’t think to ask). If you’d like a hand with your next qualitative or quantitative study, our team is here to help. Reach out to us at support@netizenexperience.com or visit www.netizenexperience.com—we’re always happy to help you find the right participants to make your research count.

 

 

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