THREE MAIN TYPES OF SAMPLING TECHNIQUES

A. PURPOSEFUL SAMPLING is the most common sampling strategy. In this type of sampling, participants are selected
or sought after based on pre-selected criteria based on the research question. For example, the study may be
attempting to collect data from lymphoma patients in a particular city or county. The sample size may be
predetermined or based on theoretical saturation, which is the point at which the newly collected no longer provides
additional insights.

TYPES OF PURPOSEFUL SAMPLING

1. MAXIMUM VARIATION SAMPLING

Maximum variation sampling, also known as heterogeneous sampling, is a purposive sampling technique used to
capture a wide range of perspectives relating to the thing that you are interested in studying; that is, maximum
variation sampling is a search for variation in perspectives, ranging from those conditions that are view to
be typical through to those that are more extreme in nature. By conditions, we mean the units (i.e., people,
cases/organizations, events, pieces of data) that are of interest to the researcher. These units may exhibit a wide
range of attributes, behaviors, experiences, incidents, qualities, situations, and so forth. The basic principle behind
maximum variation sampling is to gain greater insights into a phenomenon by looking at it from all angles. This can
often help the researcher to identify common themes that are evident across the sample.

2. HOMOGENOUS SAMPLING

Homogeneous sampling is a purposive sampling technique that aims to achieve a homogeneous sample; that is, a
sample whose units (e.g., people, cases, etc.) share the same (or very similar) characteristics or traits (e.g., a group of
people that are similar in terms of age, gender, background, occupation, etc.). In this respect, homogeneous
sampling is the opposite of maximum variation sampling. A homogeneous sample is often chosen when the research
question that is being address is specific to the characteristics of the particular group of interest, which is
subsequently examined in detail.

3. TYPICAL CASE SAMPLING

Typical case sampling is a purposive sampling technique used when you are interested in the normality/typicality of
the units (e.g., people, cases, events, settings/contexts, places/sites) you are interested, because they
are normal/typical. The word typical does not mean that the sample is representative in the sense of probability
sampling (i.e., that the sample shares the same/similar characteristics of the population being studied). Rather, the
word typical means that the researcher has the ability to compare the findings from a study using typical case
sampling with other similar samples (i.e., comparing samples, not generalizing a sample to a population). Therefore,
with typical case sampling, you cannot use the sample to make generalizations to a population, but the sample could
be illustrative of other similar samples. Whilst typical case sampling can be used exclusively, it may also follow
another type of purposive sampling technique, such as maximum variation sampling, which can help to act as an
exploratory sampling strategy to identify the typical cases that are subsequently selected.

4. EXTREME (DEVIANT) CASE SAMPLING

Extreme (or deviant) case sampling is a type of purposive sampling that is used to focus on cases that
are special or unusual, typically in the sense that the cases highlight notable outcomes, failures or successes. These
extreme (or deviant) cases are useful because they often provide significant insight into a particular phenomenon,
which can act as lessons (or cases of best practice) that guide future research and practice. In some cases, extreme
(or deviant) case sampling is thought to reflect the purest form of insight into the phenomenon being studied.
 5. CRITICAL CASE SAMPLING

Critical case sampling is a type of purposive sampling technique that is particularly useful in exploratory qualitative
research, research with limited resources, as well as research where a single case (or small number of cases) can
be decisive in explaining the phenomenon of interest. It is this decisive aspect of critical case sampling that is
arguably the most important. To know if a case is decisive, think about the following statements: If it happens there,
it will happen anywhere; or, if it doesn’t happen there, it won’t happen anywhere; and if that group is having
problems, then we can be sure all the groups are having problems(Patton, 202, p.237). Whilst such critical cases
should not be used to make statistical generalizations, it can be argued that they can help in making logical
generalizations. However, such logical generalizations should be made carefully.

6. TOTAL POPULATION SAMPLING

Total population sampling is a type of purposive sampling technique where you choose to examine the entire
population (i.e., the total population) that have a particular set of characteristics (e.g., specific experience,
knowledge, skills, exposure to an event, etc.). In such cases, the entire population is often chosen because the size of
the population that has the particular set of characteristics that you are interest in is very small. Therefore, if a small
number of units (i.e., people, cases/organizations, etc.) were not included in the sample that is investigated, it may
be felt that a significant piece of the puzzle was missing [see the article, Total population sampling, to learn more].

7. EXPERT SAMPLING

Expert sampling is a type of purposive sampling technique that is used when your research needs to glean knowledge
from individuals that have particular expertise. This expertise may be required during the exploratory phase of
qualitative research, highlighting potential new areas of interest or opening doors to other participants. Alternately,
the particular expertise that is being investigated may form the basis of your research, requiring a focus only on
individuals with such specific expertise. Expert sampling is particularly useful where there is a lack of empirical
evidence in an area and high levels of uncertainty, as well as situations where it may take a long period of time
before the findings from research can be uncovered. Therefore, expert sampling is a cornerstone of a research
design known as expert elicitation.

B. QUOTA SAMPLING is a sampling technique whereby participant quotas are preset prior to sampling. Typically, the
researcher is attempting to gather data from a certain number of participants that meet certain characteristics that
may include things such as age, sex, class, marital status, HIV status, etc.

It is a non-probability sampling technique wherein the assembled sample has the same proportions of individuals as
the entire population with respect to known characteristics, traits or focused phenomenon.

STEP BY STEP QUOTA SAMPLING

• The first step in non-probability quota sampling is to divide the population into exclusive subgroups.
• Then, the researcher must identify the proportions of these subgroups in the population; this same proportion will
be applied in the sampling process.
• Finally, the researcher selects subjects from the various subgroups while taking into consideration the proportions
noted in the previous step.

• The final step ensures that the sample is representative of the entire population. It also allows the researcher to
study traits and characteristics that are noted for each subgroup.
 Example of Quota Samples

In a study wherein the researcher likes to compare the academic performance of the different high school class
levels, its relationship with gender and socioeconomic status, the researcher first identifies the subgroups.

Usually, the subgroups are the characteristics or variables of the study. The researcher divides the entire population
into class levels, intersected with gender and socioeconomic status. Then, he takes note of the proportions of these
subgroups in the entire population and then samples each subgroup accordingly.
When to Use Quota Samples

• The main reason why researchers choose quota samples is that it allows the researchers to sample a subgroup
that is of great interest to the study. If a study aims to investigate a trait or a characteristic of a certain subgroup,
this type of sampling is the ideal technique.

• Quota sampling also allows the researchers to observe relationships between subgroups. In some studies, traits of
a certain subgroup interact with other traits of another subgroup. In such cases, it is also necessary for the
researcher to use this type of sampling technique.

C. SNOWBALL SAMPLING is also known as chain referral sampling. In this method, the participants refer the
researcher to others who may be able to potentially contribute or participate in the study. This method often helps
researchers find and recruit participants that may otherwise be hard to reach.

Researchers use this sampling method if the sample for the study is very rare or is limited to a very small subgroup of
the population. This type of sampling technique works like chain referral. After observing the initial subject, the
researcher asks for assistance from the subject to help identify people with a similar trait of interest.
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.

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.

TYPES OF SNOWBALL SAMPLING

1. Linear snowball sampling. Formation of a sample group starts with only one subject and the subject provides only
one referral. The referral is recruited into the sample group and he/she also provide only one new referral. This pattern
is continued until the sample group is fully formed.

2. Exponential non-discriminative snowball sampling. The first subject recruited to the sample group provides multiple
referrals. Each new referral is explored until primary data from sufficient number of samples are collected.
3. Exponential discriminative snowball sampling. Subjects give multiple referrals, however, only one new subject is
recruited among them. The choice of a new subject is guided by the aim and objectives of the study.

A NOTE ON SAMPLING SIZE

Once a sampling method has been determined, the researcher must consider the sample size. In qualitative studies,
sampling typically continues until information redundancy or saturation occurs. This is the point at which no new
information is emerging in the data. Therefore, in qualitative studies it is critical that data collection and analysis are
occurring simultaneously so that the researcher will know when the saturation point is reached. It is important to
understand that the saturation point may occur prematurely if the researcher has a narrow sampling frame, a skewed
analysis of the data, or poor methodology. Because of this, the researcher must carefully create the research question,
select an appropriate target group, eliminate his or her own biases and analyze data continuously and thoroughly
throughout the process to bring validity to the data collected.