Sampling & Generalizability in qualitative research

sampling in qualitative research

uses non-probabilistic sampling (not random)

quota sampling

decided prior to the start of research how many people to include in the sample & which characteristics they should have.

purposive sampling

main characteristics of participants are defined in advance, then researchers recruit participants who have these characteristics. proportions and sample size are not defined.

theoretical sampling

type of purposive sampling that stops when the point of data saturation is reached. (no new information is obtained from new participants added to the sample)

snowball sampling

recruitment of participants based on word of mouth or referrals from other participants

convenience sampling

recruiting participants for availability.

Sample-to-population generalization

the researcher starts by identifying the target population and then selects a sample that is representative of this population; the best approach to achieve this is to use random sampling.

theoretical generalization

the extent to which results in a survey or another research study are consistent with predictions made by an existing theory

Case-to-Case Generalization (Transferability)

generalization is made to a different group of people or a different setting or context