Unit 4: Ch. 15 Flashcards
sampling in qualitative research
selection of sample members guided by desire for information rich sources (looking at what participants say)
representativeness is NOT a key issue
-representativeness is a quantitative concept, not necessarily a qualitative concept
random selection not considered productive
-simply doesn’t apply in qualitative studies b/c looking for different information
what are the 4 types of qualitative sampling?
- convenience sampling
- snowball sampling
- purposive sampling
- theoretical sampling
convenience sampling
pick the group of people that are the most convenient
- aka “volunteer samples”
- used in quantitative studies too
- most common
snowball sampling
one person tells another person who tells another person about the study (“word of mouth”)
-used in quantitative studies too
purposive sampling
people are selected for the study on purpose
theoretical sampling
designed to collect the type of data to best develop an emerging theory
-used in grounded theory
types of purposive sampling (6)
- maximum variation sampling
- extreme/deviant case sampling
- typical case sampling
- criterion sampling
- confirming sampling
- disconfirming sampling
purposive sampling: maximum variation sampling
sampling that is deliberately selecting cases w/ wide variation on dimensions of interest
-lots of different types of people in your sample
purposive sampling: extreme/deviant case sampling
provides opportunities for learning from the most unusual and the most extreme informants
purposive sampling: typical case sampling
selection of participants who illustrate or highlight what is typical or average
purposive sampling: criterion sampling
study of cases that meet a pre-determined criteria of importance
-looking for people w/ certain characteristics, attitudes…looking for certain info. People must meet the criterion
purposive sampling: confirming cases
fit the researchers conceptualizations and strengthen credibility (corroborates/confirms what the researcher thinks they know)
purposive sampling: disconfirming cases
do not confirm what the researcher thinks; serves to challenge the researcher’s interpretation; offer insights into how conceptualizations may be revised; looking outside the box
define theoretical sampling. where is it primarily used?
definition: selection of sample members who best facilitate and contribute to development of the emerging theory
used primarily in grounded theory research
sample size in qualitative research
no explicit formal criteria
-there are a range of sample sizes that can change due to various things, needs…
sample size determined by informational needs
- ex: focus groups need sample size of 5-10
- don’t have to increase sample size once you get the info you need (ex: focus group of 5 gives you the info you need –> don’t have to increase sample size to include 10 people)
decisions to stop sampling guided by data saturation (“data redundancy,” “data repetition”)
-as researcher is doing interviews, you start hearing people say the same things
data quality can influence sample size
- ex: people in the study can clearly and concisely express their views –> fewer people are needed
- ex: people in the study cannot express themselves well –> need more people in the study
ethnography
researcher mingles with many members of a culture. Use a “big net” approach. May have anywhere from 25-50 informal conversations. A lot of data is collected in the process of living in the society
tend to need the largest sample sizes of all qualitative researchers
have multiple interviews with key informants
phenomenology
relies on small samples (often 10 or fewer); needs the fewest people of the qualitative researchers
participants must have directly experienced the phenomenon of interest
grounded theory
typically involves samples of somewhere between 20 and 40 people
researchers are selecting participants who can best contribute to the emerging theory (“people who are in the know”)
ethnography uses __ - __ informants.
NEED TO KNOW. ON EXAM
25-50 informants