Drexel University, School of Public Health, Department of Community Health and Prevention, Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA.
Subst Use Misuse. 2010 Apr;45(5):684-99. doi: 10.3109/10826081003594914.
Longitudinal studies that research homeless persons or transient drug users face particular challenges in retaining subjects. Between 2005 and 2006, 101 mobile young injection drug users were recruited in Los Angeles into a 2-year longitudinal study. Several features of ethnographic methodology, including fieldwork and qualitative interviews, and modifications to the original design, such as toll-free calls routed directly to ethnographer cell phones and wiring incentive payments, resulted in retention of 78% of subjects for the first follow-up interview. Longitudinal studies that are flexible and based upon qualitative methodologies are more likely to retain mobile subjects while also uncovering emergent research findings.
在对 homeless persons 或 transient drug users 进行纵向研究时，研究人员会面临留住研究对象这一特别的挑战。2005 年至 2006 年期间，在洛杉矶，研究人员招募了 101 名流动的年轻注射吸毒者，将他们纳入一项为期两年的纵向研究。人种学方法的一些特点，包括实地工作和定性访谈，以及对原始设计的修改，例如直接拨打到人种学家手机的免费电话和布线激励性支付，使得 78%的研究对象保留下来，接受了第一次随访。灵活且基于定性方法的纵向研究更有可能留住流动的研究对象，同时也能揭示新出现的研究结果。
