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Purposive Sampling Research

the file contains a sample of research method. This method is a purposive sampling. It explains the use of the method and importance to a research.

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2K views1 page

Purposive Sampling Research

the file contains a sample of research method. This method is a purposive sampling. It explains the use of the method and importance to a research.

Uploaded by

genearg
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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http://sociology.about.com/od/Types-of-Samples/a/Purposive-Sample.

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A purposive sample, also commonly called a judgmental sample, is one that is selected
based on the knowledge of a population and the purpose of the study. The subjects are
selected because of some characteristic.
Field researchers are often interested in studying extreme or deviant cases that is,
cases that dont fit into regular patterns of attitudes and behaviors. By studying the
deviant cases, researchers can often gain a better understanding of the more regular
patterns of behavior. This is where purposive sampling often takes place. For instance, if
a researcher is interested in learning more about students at the top of their class, he or
she is going to sample those students who fall into the "top of the class" category. They
will be purposively selected because they meet a certain characteristic.
Purposive sampling can be very useful for situations where you need to reach a targeted
sample quickly and where sampling for proportionality is not the main concern.
Examples
If a researcher is studying the nature of school spirit as exhibited at a school pep rally,
he or she might interview people who did not appear to be caught up in the emotions of
the crowd or students who did not attend the rally at all. In this case, the researcher is
using a purposive sample because those being interviewed fit a specific purpose or
description.
Researchers (typically market researchers) who you might often see at a mall carrying a
clipboard and stopping various people to interview are often conducting research using
purposive sampling. They may be looking for and stopping only those people who meet
certain characteristics. For instance, if they are interested in the opinions of Hispanic
females between 20 and 30 years old, they would stop the people passing by who look
like they fit this description. One of the first things the researcher will do in this
situation is verify that the respondent does in fact meet the characteristics or criteria for
being included in the sample. If they do, the researcher will ask them the rest of the
survey questions. If they do not meet the criteria, the researcher will likely send them on
their way.

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