Conclusions
RECRUITMENT
The standard paper survey generated the most returns and the highest response rate. Push-to-web surveys may offer a cost saving compared to paper surveys, without compromising the representativeness of respondents or external validity of survey estimates, yet they do not necessarily result in higher response rates. Social media surveys offer a significant cost saving compared to paper and push-to-web surveys, but the respondents may be less likely to represent the target population and it may not always be possible to recruit sufficient numbers. However, reduced representativeness does not necessarily introduce more bias in survey estimates, particularly when survey data are weighted to account for non-response or self-selection bias. Future research should explore whether targeted recruitment to increase the inclusion of under-represented groups could increase representativeness and validity in social media surveys, thus demonstrating the viability of using social media surveys to collect nationally representative maternity survey data.