During active recruitment in a variety of gay and bisexual men’s venues (e.g., community events, bookstores, bars/clubs, bathhouses, and throughout MSM-concentrated neighborhoods throughout New York City), project staff approached potential participants to provide them with a brief verbal description of the study. Recruitment staff handed men a card that contained more information about the study and encouraged them to call for more information. These recruitment venues were identified via ongoing ethnographic community-based fieldwork, informal interviews with key informants, study participants, and community-based publications.
If circumstances permitted, men were also offered the opportunity to screen in the field. Field screening occurred primarily in indoor settings such as at community events and nightclubs/bars, and was accomplished by using laptop computers that were equipped with Automated Computer Assisted Survey Instrument (ACASI) software. ACASI uses a computer and voice recordings so that the participant hears (through headphones) and sees (on the screen) each question and response list. Participants enter their responses directly into the computer using a keyboard or mouse. ACASI has been found to be an effective interview method for people of diverse educational backgrounds and eliminates the effects that reading ability has on internal validity (Gribble, Miller, Rogers, & Turner, 1999 ; Turner, Ku, Rogers, Lindberg, & Pleck, 1998 (link)). Studies have shown that ACASI increases the proportion of individuals admitting sexual behaviors and illicit drug use (Tourangeau & Smith, 1996 ; Turner, Ku, Rogers, Lindberg, & Pleck, 1998 (link)). The field screening ACASI program calculated eligibility criteria for the study instantaneously, eliminating the need for participants to call and screen via the research center.
If circumstances permitted, men were also offered the opportunity to screen in the field. Field screening occurred primarily in indoor settings such as at community events and nightclubs/bars, and was accomplished by using laptop computers that were equipped with Automated Computer Assisted Survey Instrument (ACASI) software. ACASI uses a computer and voice recordings so that the participant hears (through headphones) and sees (on the screen) each question and response list. Participants enter their responses directly into the computer using a keyboard or mouse. ACASI has been found to be an effective interview method for people of diverse educational backgrounds and eliminates the effects that reading ability has on internal validity (Gribble, Miller, Rogers, & Turner, 1999 ; Turner, Ku, Rogers, Lindberg, & Pleck, 1998 (link)). Studies have shown that ACASI increases the proportion of individuals admitting sexual behaviors and illicit drug use (Tourangeau & Smith, 1996 ; Turner, Ku, Rogers, Lindberg, & Pleck, 1998 (link)). The field screening ACASI program calculated eligibility criteria for the study instantaneously, eliminating the need for participants to call and screen via the research center.
