Sampling in qualitative research
Why is an ethnographic study unlikely to use a probability sample?
Because the aim of understanding is more important than that of generalization
Because the researcher cannot control who is willing to talk to them
Because it is difficult to identify a sampling frame
All of the above
All of the above
Ethnographic research tends to rely on convenience or snowball sampling, because the ethnographer can only glean information from whoever is prepared to talk to them. The shifting population of such groups also makes it difficult to map out the sampling frame from which a probability sample could be selected. However, as a qualitative research design, it is generally seen as more important for this technique to lead to interpretive understanding than to statistical generalisation.
Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 418
Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 418
All of the above Ethnographic research tends to rely on convenience or snowball sampling, because the ethnographer can only glean information from whoever is prepared to talk to them. The shifting population of such groups also makes it difficult to map out the sampling frame from which a probability sample could be selected. However, as a qualitative research design, it is generally seen as more important for this technique to lead to interpretive understanding than to statistical generalisation.
Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 418
Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 418
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Apart from people, what else can purposive sampling be used for?A. Documents
B. Timing of events
C. Context
D. All of the above
The two levels of sampling used by Savage et al. (2005) for the Manchester study were:
A. Random and purposive
B. Convenience and snowball
C. Statistical and non-statistical
D. Contexts and participants
The minimum sample size for qualitative interviewing is:
A. 30
B. 31
C. 60
D. It’s hard to say
What is meant by the term “theoretical saturation”?
A. Deciding on a theory and then testing it repeatedly
B. The point at which a concept is so well developed that no further data collection is necessary
C. The problem of having used too many theories in one’s data analysis
D. A state of frustration caused by having used every possible statistical test without finding any significant results
Which of the following is not a type of purposive sampling?
A. Probability sampling
B. Deviant case sampling
C. Theoretical sampling
D. Snowball sampling
Generic purposive sampling can be characterized as being:
A. Fixed and a priori
B. Fixed and ad-hoc
C. Contingent and post-hoc
D. Contingent and ad infinitum
What can be generalized from a purposive sample?
A. That the findings are true for broadly similar cases
B. That the findings are true for the entire population
C. That the opposite is true for people who are the opposite of those in the sample
D. That purposive sampling is better than probability sampling
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