Viva les fans! Exploring social sourcing for research tasks on social networking sites

Social networking sites (SNSs) like Facebook facilitate online communities and resource exchange. While leveraging social connections for tasks (friendsourcing) is well-studied, SNSs’ broader role in research engagement remains underexplored. This study examines ‘social sourcing,’ which extends beyond friendsourcing by engaging both personal networks and the wider SNS community in research participation. We compare social sourcing with friendsourcing (focused on personal networks) and crowdsourcing (engaging unconnected individuals). Analyzing behavioral log data and task postings in a Facebook group, we identified key factors influencing user engagement, including direct participation, survey-based research, raffle compensation, remote participation, and location. However, only group size significantly impacted engagement, with no notable effects from social or friend sourcing. Our findings advance theoretical understanding of sourcing dynamics on SNSs and provide practical design insights to enhance user participation in research tasks.