Non-probability sampling represents a group of sampling techniques that help researchers to select units from a population that they

are interested in studying. Collectively, these units form the sample that the researcher studies. A core characteristic of non-probability sampling techniques is that samples are selected based on the subjective judgement of the researcher, rather than random selection (i.e. probabilistic methods), which is the cornerstone of probability sampling techniques. Whilst some researchers may view non-probability sampling techniques as inferior to probability sampling techniques, there are strong theoretical and practical reasons for their use. Theoretical reasons Non-probability sampling represents a valuable group of sampling techniques that can be used in research that follows a qualitative, mixed methods, and even quantitative research design. Practical reasons Non-probability sampling is often used because the procedures used to select units for inclusion in a sample are much easier, quicker and cheaper when compared with probability sampling. This is especially the case for convenience sampling. Types of non-probability sampling technique There are five types of non-probability sampling technique: 1) Quota sampling 2) Convenience sampling 3) Purposive sampling 4) Self-selection sampling 5) Snowball sampling Quota sampling With proportional quota sampling, the aim is to end up with a sample where the strata (groups) being studied (e.g. males vs. females students) are proportional to the population being studied. If we were to examine the differences in male and female students, for example, the number of students from each group that we would include in the sample would be based on the proportion of male and female students amongst the 10,000 university students.

Convenience sampling A convenience sample is simply one where the units that are selected for inclusion in the sample are the easiest to access. In our example of the 10,000 university students, if we were only interested in achieving a sample size of say 100 students, we may simply stand at one of the main entrances to campus, where it would be easy to invite the many students that pass by to take part in the research. Purposive sampling Purposive sampling, also known as judgmental, selective or subjective sampling, reflects a group of sampling techniques that rely on the judgement of the researcher when it comes to selecting the units (e.g. people, cases/organisations, events, pieces of data) that are to be studied. These purposive sampling techniques include maximum variation sampling, homogeneous sampling, typical case sampling, extreme (or deviant) case sampling, total population sampling, and expert sampling. Each of these purposive sampling techniques has a specific goal, focusing on certain types of units, all for different reasons. The different purposive sampling techniques can either be used on their own or in combination with other purposive sampling techniques. Self-selection sampling Self-selection sampling is appropriate when we want to allow units or cases, whether individuals or organisations, to choose to take part in research on their own accord. The key component is that research subjects (or organisations) volunteer to take part in the research rather than being approached by the researcher directly. Snowball sampling Snowball sampling is particularly appropriate when the population you are interested in is hidden and/or hard-to-reach. These include populations such as drug addicts, homeless people, individuals with AIDS/HIV, prostitutes, and so forth.

There are many methods of collecting primary data and the main methods include:

questionnaires interviews focus group interviews observation case-studies

Questionnaires Questionnaires are a popular means of collecting data, but are difficult to design and often require many rewrites before an acceptable questionnaire is produced. Advantages:

Can be used as a method in its own right or as a basis for interviewing or a telephone survey. Can be posted, e-mailed or faxed. Can cover a large number of people or organizations, Wide geographic coverage. Relatively cheap. No prior arrangements are needed. Avoids embarrassment on the part of the respondent. Possible anonymity of respondent. No interviewer bias.

Disadvantages:

Design problems. Questions have to be relatively simple. Historically low response rate . Time delay whilst waiting for responses to be returned.

Require a return deadline. Assumes no literacy problems. No control over who completes it. Not possible to give assistance if required. Problems with incomplete questionnaires. Replies not spontaneous and independent of each other.

Interviews Interviewing is a technique that is primarily used to gain an understanding of the underlying reasons and motivations for peoples attitudes, preferences or behaviour. Interviews can be undertaken on a personal one-to-one basis or in a group. They can be conducted at work, at home, in the street or in a shopping centre, or some other agreed location. Personal interview Advantages:

Serious approach by respondent resulting in accurate information. Good response rate. Completed and immediate. Possible in-depth questions. Interviewer in control and can give help if there is a problem. Can investigate motives and feelings. Characteristics of respondent assessed tone of voice, facial expression, hesitation, etc. If one interviewer used, uniformity of approach.

Disadvantages:

Need to set up interviews. Time consuming.

Geographic limitations. Can be expensive. Normally need a set of questions. Respondent bias tendency to please or impress, create false personal image, or end interview quickly. Transcription and analysis can present problems subjectivity.

Types of interview Structured:

Based on a carefully worded interview schedule. Frequently require short answers with the answers being ticked off. Useful when there are a lot of questions which are not particularly contentious or thought provoking. Respondent may become irritated by having to give over-simplified answers.

Semi-structured The interview is focused by asking certain questions but with scope for the respondent to express him or herself at length. Unstructured This also called an in-depth interview. The interviewer begins by asking a general question. The interviewer then encourages the respondent to talk freely. The interviewer uses an unstructured format, the subsequent direction of the interview being determined by the respondents initial reply. Focus group interviews A focus group is an interview conducted by a trained moderator in a non-structured and natural manner with a small group of respondents. The moderator leads the discussion. The main purpose of focus groups is to gain insights by listening to a group of people from the appropriate target market talk about specific issues of interest. Observation Observation involves recording the behavioural patterns of people, objects and events in a systematic manner. Observational methods may be:

structured or unstructured disguised or undisguised natural or contrived personal mechanical non-participant participant, with the participant taking a number of different roles.

Structured or unstructured In structured observation, the researcher specifies in detail what is to be observed and how the measurements are to be recorded. It is appropriate when the problem is clearly defined and the information needed is specified. In unstructured observation, the researcher monitors all aspects of the phenomenon that seem relevant. It is appropriate when the problem has yet to be formulated precisely and flexibility is needed in observation to identify key components of the problem and to develop hypotheses. The potential for bias is high. Observation findings should be treated as hypotheses to be tested rather than as conclusive findings. Disguised or undisguised In disguised observation, respondents are unaware they are being observed and thus behave naturally. Disguise is achieved, for example, by hiding, or using hidden equipment or people disguised as shoppers. In undisguised observation, respondents are aware they are being observed. There is a danger of the Hawthorne effect people behave differently when being observed. Natural or contrived Natural observation involves observing behaviour as it takes place in the environment, for example, eating hamburgers in a fast food outlet. In contrived observation, the respondents behaviour is observed in an artificial environment, for example, a food tasting session. Personal

In personal observation, a researcher observes actual behaviour as it occurs. The observer may or may not normally attempt to control or manipulate the phenomenon being observed. The observer merely records what takes place. Mechanical Mechanical devices (video, closed circuit television) record what is being observed. These devices may or may not require the respondents direct participation. They are used for continuously recording on-going behaviour. Non-participant The observer does not normally question or communicate with the people being observed. He or she does not participate. Participant In participant observation, the researcher becomes, or is, part of the group that is being investigated. Participant observation has its roots in ethnographic studies (study of man and races) where researchers would live in tribal villages, attempting to understand the customs and practices of that culture. It has a very extensive literature, particularly in sociology (development, nature and laws of human society) and anthropology (physiological and psychological study of man). Organisations can be viewed as tribes with their own customs and practices. Case-studies The term case-study usually refers to a fairly intensive examination of a single unit such as a person, a small group of people, or a single company. Case-studies involve measuring what is there and how it got there. In this sense, it is historical. It can enable the researcher to explore, unravel and understand problems, issues and relationships. It cannot, however, allow the researcher to generalise, that is, to argue that from one case-study the results, findings or theory developed apply to other similar case-studies. The case looked at may be unique and, therefore not representative of other instances. It is, of course, possible to look at several case-studies to represent certain features of management that we are interested in studying. The case-study approach is often done to make practical improvements. Contributions to general knowledge are incidental.

Cumulative scale like other scales consists of series of statements to which a respondent expresses his agreement or disagreement. The special feature of this type of is that statements in it form a cumulative series. In other words the statements are related to one another in such a way that an individual, who replies favorably to item no 3 also replies favorably to items 2 and 1and 1 who replier favorably to item 4 also replies favorably to item no 3, 2 and 1 and so on. It assures that only a single dimension of attitude is being measured. Researchers subjective judgment is not allowed to creep in the development of scale since the scale is determined by the replies of respondents. Advantages of cumulative scales: uni-dimensional highly reliable lend themselves to ordinal levels of measurement The main difficulty in using the scaling technique is that in practice perfect cumulative or unidirectional scales are very rarely found and we have only to use its approximation testing through coefficient of reproducibility or examining on the bases of some other criteria. This method is not frequently used for simple reason that its development procedure is tedious and complex. Disadvantages of cumulative scales: little guidance for the selection of items problem of validity unequal intervals

Tabulation refers to the systematic arrangement of the information in rows and columns. Rows are the horizontal arrangement. In simple words, tabulation is a layout of figures in rectangular form with appropriate headings to explain different rows and columns. The main purpose of the table is to simplify the presentation and to facilitate comparisons. Importance of Tabulation Tabulation is a technique to present and interpret the complex information in a simple and systematic form. The main objectives of the process of tabulation are as follows:

The main purpose of the tabulation is to simplify the complex information so that it can be easily understood. Under tabulation, data is divided into various parts and for each part there are totals and sub totals. Therefore, relationship between different parts can be easily known. Since data are arranged in a table with a title and a number so these can be easily identified and used for the required purpose. Tabulation makes the data brief. Therefore, it can be easily presented in the form of graphs. Tabulation presents the numerical figures in an attractive form. Tabulation makes complex data simple and as a result of this, it becomes easy to understand the data. This form of the presentation of data is helpful in finding mistakes. Tabulation is useful in condensing the collected data. Tabulation makes it easy to analyze the data from tables. Tabulation is a very cheap mode to present the data. It saves time as well as space. Tabulation is a device to summaries the large scattered data. So, the maximum information may be collected from these tables.

http://changingminds.org/explanations/research/sampling/choosing_sampling.htm

The snowball sampling also known as chain referral sampling is used in this situation. A snowball sample is one in which the researcher collects data on the few members of the target population he or she can locate, then asks those individuals to provide information needed to locate other members of that population whom they know. The 'snowball' effect occurs as referrals multiply at each step. For example if you got two referrals from each person, then starting from two people get four more, then eight, sixteen and so on. The process of snowball sampling is much like asking your subjects to nominate another person with the same trait as your next subject. The researcher then observes the nominated subjects and continues in the same way until the obtaining sufficient number of subjects. Snowball sampling is hardly likely to lead a representative sample, but there are times when it may be the best or only method available. Because snowball sampling is hardly representative of the larger study population, it is primarily used for exploratory purposes. That is, the researcher is feeling out a topic or population to study further in-depth at a later time. Exploratory studies are typically done for three purposes: to satisfy the researcher does curiosity and desire for better understands, to test the feasibility of undertaking a more extensive study, and to develop the methods to be employed in any subsequent studies. Examples For example, if obtaining subjects for a study that wants to observe a rare disease, the researcher may opt to use snowball sampling since it will be difficult to obtain subjects. It is also possible that the patients with the same disease have a support group; being able to observe one of the members as your initial subject will then lead you to more subjects for the study.
Read more: http://www.experiment-resources.com/snowball-sampling.html#ixzz1ySCODcHV

If a researcher wishes to interview undocumented immigrants from Mexico, he or she might interview a few undocumented individuals that he or she knows or can locate and would then rely on those subjects to help locate more undocumented individuals. This process continues until the researcher has all the interviews he or she needs or until all contacts have been exhausted.

If youve read the book or have seen the movie The Help, you will recognize the main characters (Skeeters) method of finding interview subjects as snowball sampling. In this case, she identified one housekeeper who was willing to speak with her about her experiences working for white families. That housekeeper, Aibileen, then recruited more housekeepers for Skeeter to interview. Those housekeepers then recruited a few more, and so on. It may not have been a representative sample of all black housekeepers in the South, but it was the only method available to Skeeter because of the difficulty finding and reaching out to the subjects. For instance, if you are studying the homeless, you are not likely to find a list of all the homeless people in your city. However, if you identify one or two homeless individuals that are willing to participate in your study, it is likely that they know other homeless individuals in their area and can help you locate them. The same goes for underground subcultures, or any population that might want to keep their identity hidden, such as undocumented immigrants or ex-convicts.

Quota Sampling Use when you know that the proportions of particular sub-groups within a population and you want to ensure each group is proportionately represented. Here the sample is selected on the basis of certain basic parameters such as age, sex, income and occupation that describe the nature a population so as to make it representative of the population. The Investigators or field workers are instructed to choose a sample that conforms to these parameters. The field workers are assigned quotas of the number of units satisfying the required characteristics on which data should be collected. However, before collecting data on these units, the investigators are supposed to verify that the units qualify these characteristics. Convenience Sampling Use when you are unable to access a wider population, for example due to time or cost constraints. It is used for exploratory research and speedy situations. It is often used for new product formulations or to provide gross-sensory evaluations by using employees, students, peers, etc. Convenience sampling is extensively used in marketing studies

Judgement Sampling Use when you want a quick sample and you believe you are able to select a sufficiently representative sample for your purposes. This method is highly liable to bias and error as the researcher makes inexpert judgment and selection. You probably have be experienced in research methods before you can make a fair judgment about the right sample. Judgment sampling is often a last-resort method that may be used when there is no time to do a proper study. In qualitative research, it is common and can be appropriate as the researcher explores anthropological situations where the discovery of meaning can benefit from an intuitive approach.