Sampling in Qualitative Research

Sampling in Qualitative
Research
Methods | Types, Techniques & Examples

Introduction
• When you conduct research about a group of people, it’s
rarely possible to collect data from every person in that
group. Instead, you select a sample.
• The sample is the group of individuals who will actually
participate in the research.
• To draw valid conclusions from your results, you have to
carefully decide how you will select a sample that is
representative of the group as a whole. This is called
a sampling method.
• Researcher in qualitative research select their
participants.
According to their
• Characteristics
• Knowledge
Sampling Frame
• The sampling frame is the actual list of
individuals that the sample will be drawn from.
Ideally, it should include the entire target
population (and nobody who is not part of that
population).
Example: You are doing research on working

conditions at a social media marketing company.
Your population is all 1000 employees of the
company. Your sampling frame is the company’s
HR database, which lists the names and contact
details of every employee.
Sampling size
• The number of individuals you
should include in your sample
depends on various factors,
including the size and
variability of the
population and your research
design. There are different
sample size calculators and
formulas depending on what
you want to achieve with
statistical analysis.
Methods
There are two primary types of sampling
methods that you can use in your
research.
• Probability sampling involves random
selection, allowing you to make strong
statistical inferences about the whole
group.
• Non-probability sampling involves non-
random selection based on convenience
or other criteria, allowing you to easily
collect data.
Probability sampling methods
• Probability sampling means that every
member of the population has a chance of
being selected. It is mainly used in
quantitative research. If you want to
produce results that are representative of
the whole population, probability
sampling techniques are the most valid
choice.
Types of Probability sampling methods
There are four main types of probability sample.
Non-probability sampling methods
• In a non-probability sample, individuals are
selected based on non-random criteria, and not
every individual has a chance of being included.
• This type of sample is easier and cheaper to
access, but it has a higher risk of sampling bias.
That means the inferences you can make about the
population are weaker than with probability
samples, and your conclusions may be more
limited. If you use a non-probability sample, you
should still aim to make it as representative of the
population as possible.
• Non-probability sampling techniques are often used
in exploratory and qualitative research. In these
types of research, the aim is not to test a
hypothesis about a broad population, but to
Types of Non-probability sampling methods
There are five main types of non probability sample.

1) Convenience sampling
2) Voluntary response sampling
3) Purposive sampling
4) Snowball sampling
5) Quota sampling
Convenience sampling
A convenience sample simply includes the
individuals who happen to be most accessible
to the researcher.
This is an easy and inexpensive way to gather
initial data, but there is no way to tell if the
sample is representative of the population,
so it can’t produce generalizable results.
Convenience samples are at risk for both
sampling bias and selection bias.
Example
You are researching opinions about student support services in your

university, so after each of your classes, you ask your fellow
students to complete a survey on the topic. This is a convenient way
to gather data, but as you only surveyed students taking the same
classes as you at the same level, the sample is not representative of
all the students at your university.
Purposive sampling
This type of sampling, also known as judgement
sampling, involves the researcher using their
expertise to select a sample that is most useful to
the purposes of the research.
It is often used in qualitative research, where the
researcher wants to gain detailed knowledge about a
specific phenomenon rather than make statistical
inferences, or where the population is very small and
specific. An effective purposive sample must have
clear criteria and rationale for inclusion. Always
make sure to describe your inclusion and exclusion
criteria and beware of observer bias affecting your
arguments.
Example
You want to know more about the opinions and experiences of

disabled students at your university, so you purposefully select a
number of students with different support needs in order to gather
a varied range of data on their experiences with student services.
Voluntary response sampling
Similar to a convenience sample, a
voluntary response sample is mainly based
on ease of access. Instead of the
researcher choosing participants and
directly contacting them, people volunteer
themselves (e.g. by responding to a public
online survey).
Voluntary response samples are always at
least somewhat biased, as some people
will inherently be more likely to volunteer
than others, leading to self-selection bias.
Example
You send out the survey to all students at your university and a lot
of students decide to complete it. This can certainly give you some
insight into the topic, but the people who responded are more likely
to be those who have strong opinions about the student support
services, so you can’t be sure that their opinions are representative
of all students.
Snowball sampling
If the population is hard to access,
snowball sampling can be used to recruit
participants via other participants. The
number of people you have access to
“snowballs” as you get in contact with
more people. The downside here is also
representativeness, as you have no way
of knowing how representative your
sample is due to the reliance on
participants recruiting others. This can
lead to sampling bias.
Example
You are researching experiences of homelessness in your city. Since

there is no list of all homeless people in the city, probability
sampling isn’t possible. You meet one person who agrees to
participate in the research, and she puts you in contact with other
homeless people that she knows in the area.
Quota sampling
Quota sampling relies on the non-random
selection of a predetermined number or
proportion of units. This is called a quota.
You first divide the population into
mutually exclusive subgroups (called
strata) and then recruit sample units until
you reach your quota. These units share
specific characteristics, determined by you
prior to forming your strata. The aim of
quota sampling is to control what or who
makes up your sample.
Example
You want to gauge consumer interest in a new produce delivery

service in Boston, focused on dietary preferences. You divide the
population into meat eaters, vegetarians, and vegans, drawing a
sample of 1000 people. Since the company wants to cater to all
consumers, you set a quota of 200 people for each dietary group. In
this way, all dietary preferences are equally represented in your
research, and you can easily compare these groups.You continue
recruiting until you reach the quota of 200 participants for each
subgroup.
References
Website
• https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/sampling-methods/
• https://www.slideshare.net/hafizahhajimia/research-method-sampli
ng
• https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_principles-of-sociological-inquiry
-qualitative-and-quantitative-methods/s10-02-sampling-in-qualitativ
e-resear.html
Books
• Qualitative Research: A Guide to Design and Implementation
• Qualitative Research Methods

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Sampling in Qualitative

Methods | Types, Techniques & Examples

Example: You are doing research on working

There are five main types of non probability sample.

You are researching opinions about student support services in your

You want to know more about the opinions and experiences of

You are researching experiences of homelessness in your city. Since

You want to gauge consumer interest in a new produce delivery

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