Qualitative Research Design and Sampling
Techniques
Qualitative researches are designed to provide
the researcher a means of understanding phenomenon
either concepts, opinions, or experiences by observing or
interacting with the participants of the study (Denzin &
Lincoln, 2008).
Therefore, qualitative researcher’s concern is on
exploring and/or explaining phenomenon as they occur
in the natural setting. This means that qualitative
researchers investigate things in their natural settings,
trying to make sense of, or interpret, phenomena in terms
of the meanings people bring to them (Newman & Benz,
1998).
One of the greatest strengths of qualitative
methods is that they have the potential to generate rich
descriptions of the participants’ thought processes and
tend to focus on reasons “why” a phenomenon has
occurred (Creswell, 2009).
Types of Qualitative Research Design
Ethnographical Research
Ethnographic research is probably the most
popular and applicable type of qualitative research. In
ethnography, you engage yourself in the target
participants' environment to understand the behavior,
cultures, challenges, motivations, and themes that occur.
Ethnography has its roots in cultural
anthropology where researchers engage themselves
within a culture, often for years rather than relying on
interviews or surveys; experience the environment first
hand; and sometimes as a “participant observer”. The
goal of the standard ethnography qualitative method is to
“learn about a culture from the people who actually live
in that culture” (Pleong, 1999).
Purpose: To describe a culture's character
Outcome: Description of culture
Case Study
Case study involves an in-depth examination of
a single person or single individual or single
institution/organization. The goal of a case study is to
provide an accurate and complete description of the
case; the principal benefit of a case study is that it can
expand our knowledge about the human behavior or
attitude.
It is also useful when the case is too complex
and need special attention. Case study often includes in-
depth interviews with participant, review of his/her
previous record, and observation.
It provides an opportunity for the intensive
analysis of many specific details, which are often
overlooked by other methods. A case study involves a
deep understanding through multiple types of data
sources. Case studies can be explanatory, exploratory, or
descriptive.
Purpose: To give an in-depth description of
the experience of one person, family, group,
community, or institution
Outcome: In-depth description of the
experience
Phenomenological Research
When you want to describe an event, activity, or
phenomenon, the phenomenological study is an
appropriate qualitative method. In a phenomenological
study, you use a combination of methods, such as
conducting interviews, reading documents, watching
videos, or visiting places and events, to understand the
meaning that participants place on whatever is being
examined.
You rely on the participants’ own perspectives to
provide insight into their motivations. Phenomenology is
useful for learning about “a phenomenon that has little
research by exploring the experiences of people in their
natural environment rather than confirming or denying a
preconceived theory” (Powell, Gray, & Reese, 2013).
Purpose: To describe experiences as people
lived (e.g., examines uniqueness of individual’s lived
situations)
Outcomes: Findings described from subject’s
point-of-view Researcher identifies themes.
Structural explanation of findings is developed.
Grounded Theory
While a phenomenological study looks to
describe the essence of an activity or event, grounded
theory looks to provide an explanation or theory behind
the events. According to Ralph, Birks, and Chapman
(2015), grounded theory is “methodologically dynamic”
which provides a means of constructing methods to
better understand situations that humans find themselves
in. This means that you primarily use interviews and
existing documents to build a theory based on the data.
Purpose: To develop a theory
Outcome: Theory supported by examples
from data
Narrative/Historical Research Design
A synonym of the term ‘narrative’ is ‘story’ or
‘history’ (Kramp, 2004). Narratives are related with life
stories. Moen (2006) defined it as “a story that tells a
sequence of events that is significant for the narrator or
audience or her/his audience”.
This means that the narrative approach weaves
together a sequence of events, usually from just one or
two individuals to form a cohesive story. You conduct in-
depth interviews, read documents, and look for themes;
in other words, how does an individual story illustrate
the larger life influences that created it.
Often interviews are conducted over weeks,
months, or even years, but the final narrative doesn't
need to be in chronological order. Rather, it can be
presented as a story (or narrative) with themes, and it can
reconcile conflicting stories and highlight tensions and
challenges which can be opportunities for innovation.
Purpose: To describe and examine events of
the past to understand the present and anticipate
potential future effects
Outcomes: Select means of presentation—
biography, chronology, issue paper
Sampling Techniques
 The primary purpose of sampling is the selection
of suitable participants to enable the focus of the study to
be appropriately researched. As with all types of
research, effective sample selection is a vital part of the
research design process. Inappropriate sampling
approaches may seriously affect the findings and
outcomes of a study. There are a number of types of
sampling procedures that can be adopted and the choice
of the qualitative research design will often guide that
process.
Sampling in qualitative research is termed non-
probability sampling. Unlike probability sampling used
in quantitative research, non-probability sampling does
not involve randomization. This means that members of
a qualitative study population do not have an equal
chance of being selected. Instead, they are often
‘specifically’ picked by the researchers. Whitehead and
Whitehead (2016) identified four main types of sampling
of nonprobability sampling, as follows:
Convenience Sampling
This is the most common form of qualitative
sampling, and it occurs when people are invited to
participate in the study because they are conveniently
(opportunistically) available with regard to access,
location, time, and willingness.
Convenience sampling is a relatively fast and
easy way to achieve the sample size needed for the
study. While it may be the most common form of
sampling in qualitative research, the main limitation of
using convenience sampling is that it could suffer from
either under-representation or over-representation of
particular groups within the population.
Purposive Sampling
Purposive sampling is a popular approach in
qualitative research. Participants are recruited according
to pre-selected criteria relevant to the research
aims/questions of a given study. Purposive sampling is
designed to provide information-rich cases as
participants are those who have the required status,
experience, or knowledge of interest to the researcher.
Two further types of sampling sit under the
umbrella of purposive sampling; quota sampling and
maximum variation sampling.
In quota sampling, the researcher decides on
both the number of participants required and the
characteristics of interest. These may be age, gender,
profession, diagnosis, ethnicity, and so forth. The
population is segmented into the groups of interest, for
example, men under the age of 45 years and men >45
years.
The researcher would then select men from each
group to represent the proportion of each group in the
wider population. If the desired sample size was 20 men
and the proportion of men >45 years in the population
was 75%, then the sample would consist of 5 men under
45 years and 15 men >45 years.
Quota sampling is therefore more specific with
respect to representing proportions of the sub-samples of
interest in a given research study.
Maximum phenomena variation sampling is an
approach used to ensure that the full range and extent of
the phenomena are represented—such as ensuring
people who are experiencing mild symptoms in relation
to a particular condition are included as well as those
experiencing severe symptoms (and all those in-
between).
Snowball Sampling
Also known as ‘chain referral’ or ‘networking’
sampling, snowball sampling occurs when the researcher
starts gathering information from one or a small number
of people and then requests to put the researcher in touch
with others who may be friends, relatives, colleagues, or
other significant contacts.
This type of sampling is especially useful in
recruiting ‘hidden populations’, for example,
marginalized or stigmatized individuals, where those
individuals are not easily accessible to researchers, such
as drug users, prostitutes, or those not registered with a
medical practice (Babbie 2014).
Theoretical Sampling
This form of sampling is mostly used in
grounded theory studies but is increasingly being used to
gather data for the purpose of theory generation. The
research starts from a homogeneous (small) sample and
moves to a heterogeneous (larger) sample (Babbie 2014).
Sampling occurs sequentially and alongside data
analysis. Analyzed data guides the areas to be explored
further in the next round of data collection and the focus
of the sample in order to achieve this. The initial
participants are usually purposively chosen or
conveniently available.
It is possible however, to use more than one
form of sampling in a single study. For example, in a
study by Zhou (2014), purposive sampling was initially
used to select participants. When categories were
tentatively established, theoretical sampling was then
employed.
Data Collection in Qualitative Research
As discussed in the paper of Whitehead (2016),
data collection can take the form of ‘direct data’ or
‘indirect data’.
Direct
Data
 Researchers may use more than one technique to collect

Direct
data.

Interviews
A prime method for qualitative data collection, which
also represent the most common method for gathering
qualitative data. Spoken ‘narrative’ is the foundation of

Data
most qualitative data, wherein narrative is most often
gained through a direct encounter between the researcher
and the participant (or several participants) using in-
depth interviews or focus group interviews. Interviews
can be conducted by telephone, email and, more

Direct
recently, through social media conversations and micro-
blogging (e.g., Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr).

Unstru
Data
Direct Data includes recordable spoken or ctured
written words and also observable body language,
actions, and interactions. Here, the interactions may be

Intervie
human-to-human or human responses to inanimate
objects—such as a haemodialysis machine. Whatever
can be observed or linked is considered to be potential or
actual data (Issacs, 2014). This will occur when
considering the thoughts, feelings, experiences, meaning
of experience, responses, actions, interactions, language,

ws
and processes of individuals and groups within their
social and/or cultural setting (Babbie, 2014).

Indirec  Unstructured Interviews - Neither the specific

questions to be asked nor the range or type of
possible answers are pre-determined. The interviews

t Data
Indirect data are generated, firsthand, by
someone or something else, such as with documents or
photographs reporting an event or an artistic rendition of
are designed to be informal and conversational with
the aim of encouraging participants to express
themselves in a naturally unfolding manner.
Unstructured interviews tend to start with single
broad questions, such as ‘what is your experience
of…’ The researcher, however, has an idea in mind
of the general issues to be covered and may use a
topic list as a reminder.

Semi-
an event or experience (e.g., novels, songs, paintings,
poems, photographs). Direct data, though, are by far the
most common form in qualitative research.
There are various methods for collecting direct
data in qualitative research, including interviews,
observations, open-ended questionnaires, journaling, and

structu
think aloud sessions. These methods can be used alone
or in combination to obtain the necessary data. In
qualitative research, interpersonal contact with
participants is common, such as through interviews, or
by observing pertinent events. Unlike quantitative
research, where interpersonal contact is often limited.

red
Intervie
ws
 Semi-structured Interviews - Use an interview guide
to provide a set of questions for discussion. The
questions are set to ensure that the research
aims/questions are covered. However, there is
freedom to pose any questions in any order,
following tangents or seeking clarification of
previous answers or elaboration of responses. Semi-
structured interviews steer the interview yet are
flexible enough to allow the interviewer to follow
leads and areas of interest.
Structu
red
Intervie
ws
 Structured Interviews - Structured interviews in
qualitative research are not commonly conducted.
Structured interviews follow a list of set questions,
usually asked in a certain order—but these questions
are still open-ended; that is, usually commencing
with words like ‘how’, ‘why’, ‘where’, or ‘when’.
This distinguishes them from structured quantitative
interviews, which usually only ask closed-ended
questions—such as ‘how many’ to illicit numerical
data.
Conducting Interviews
Many researchers perform ‘dry or dummy runs’
with peers and/or colleagues as a form of piloting the
interview schedule and interview techniques. There are a
number of considerations for all researchers conducting
any type of interview to enhance the experience and the
quality of data collected.
Rules of engagement’ should be established
early on—such as generating and maintaining a warm
and non-judgmental manner toward the participant/s,
asking questions in a balanced, unbiased, non-
threatening, sensitive, and clear way, and choosing a
setting for the interview that is most appropriate to
exploring the area of study (e.g., private setting if
personal questions will be asked). The majority of
interviews conducted in qualitative research are audio-
recorded or, less commonly, video-recorded.
Privacy and comfort are important, and the
researcher should minimize the likelihood of disruption
as much as possible by, for example, ensuring that all
items required are available (recording equipment, tapes,
consent forms, participant information sheets, drinks,
and tissues). Researchers should take active steps, such
as posting ‘do not disturb’ signs and disabling telephone
or pager devices.
The issues of confidentiality and anonymity
should be discussed with the participant before the
interview is conducted, and questions are encouraged
and answered. It is important to explore with the
participant how you will minimize their identification by
others, and how you will securely store the data, how
long this will be kept, and when and how it will be
destroyed.
Qualitative interviews should allow the
interviewee to speak freely and offer in-depth and
lengthy responses through techniques used singularly or
in combination. Possible techniques include the
following:
 Funneling - beginning the interview with general
and broad (non-threatening) opening questions and
then narrowing down to topic specifics as the
interview progresses.
 Probing - eliciting further details or seeking
clarification. Appropriate questions are asked in a
series leading from the least intrusive questions to
the most intrusive (laddered questions). This
technique identifies classifications of questions;
questions about ‘actions’ are deemed to be the least
invasive, through to questions about ‘philosophy’
(feelings/values/beliefs) as the most invasive.
Storytelling, as another technique, involves asking
questions in a manner which encourages storytelling
and more elaborate answers; for example, ‘Tell me
about when you last experienced…’
 Paraphrasing - repeating what the participant has
said, without changing the meaning of what has been
said; assisting understanding and clarity; and acting
as a further prompt.
 Focus Discus
Group sions
Discus
sions
Focus Group Discussions
These are interviews conducted in a group
setting and can be used in a number of ways to generate
data. Focus groups can be conducted to explore, develop,
and refine initial research questions and interview
schedules; as a form of data collection in their own right
or as a way of exploring the resonance of findings
generated through interviews (or another form of data
collection).
Focus groups offer a collective set of values,
experiences, and observations of participants that are
later interpreted in context. Sometimes, group ‘synergy’
or consensus (agreement) on issues occurs, but this is not
always the case.
Benefit
s of
Focus
Group
Benefits of Focus Group Discussions
The main benefits of this method of data
collection are the generation of data from multiple
participants and often a larger sample size compared to
individual interview studies. Another advantage is that,
for those who may find one-to-one interviews
intimidating, the group setting may be more appealing,
and provide access to participants who may not
participate otherwise (Liamputtong, 2010).
Focus groups offer supportive group interactions
as each member is encouraged to identify, describe,
analyze, and resolve issues (Issacs, 2014) and are
particularly valuable in obtaining different perspectives
on the same topic. Focus group interviews are usually
more economical to conduct than individual interviews.
Observ
ation
Observation
Observational methods are commonly used in
qualitative research designs and vary between methods.
Includes observing the daily life and behaviors of
participants in their natural setting to record aspects such
as social position and function, or actions and
interactions. Qualitative observation is traditionally
adopted by ethnographers (De Chesnay, 2014), but can
be used in other qualitative approaches. In qualitative
research, observation methods are mostly unstructured.
However, some studies will use more structured
observation. In unstructured observation, the researcher
enters the ‘field’ with no predetermined schedule as to
what they may or may not see or hear. Using this
approach requires an ‘observation protocol’ to record the
same information collected during observations by the
data collectors.
 Proces Obser
s of vation
Observ
Benefits of Observation
• ‘capturing data in more natural circumstances’,
• ‘capturing the whole social setting and context of the
environment in which people function’, and
• ‘informing about influences of the immediate physical

ation
environment’.

Process of Observation
Complete Participant
• Researcher is immersed in group/community
(complete intervention).
• Research is usually concealed (covert).
Participant as Observer
• Researcher steps into and out of
groups/community (intervention).
• Research is known (open).
Observer as Participant
• Researcher mainly observes but occasionally
enters field (brief intervention).
• Research is known (open).
Complete Observer
• Researcher does not participate.
• Research is either known (open) or concealed
(covert).

Benefi
ts of