Study Notes: Qualitative Research: Sampling & Sample Size Considerations

Adapted from a presentation by Dr. Bonnie Nastasi, Director of School Psychology Program Sampling for Qualitative Research Sampling, as it relates to research, refers to the selection of individuals, units, and/or settings to be studied. Whereas uantitative studies strive for random sampling, ualitative studies often use purposeful or criterion-based sampling, that is, a sample that has the characteristics relevant to the research uestion!s". #or e$ample, if you are interested in studying adult survivors of childhood se$ual abuse, intervie%ing a random sample of &' people may yield only one adult survivor, thus, you %ill essentially have a sample si(e of one and need to continue to randomly sample people until you have intervie%ed an appropriate number of %ho have survived childhood se$ual abuse. )his is not a %ise use of your time. )he difference in sampling strategies bet%een uantitative and ualitative studies is due to the different goals of each research approach. *ecall that typical uantitative research see+s to infer from a sample to a population !for e$ample, a relationship or a treatment effect". ,n general, you %ant to include a variety of types of people in a uantitative study so that it generali(es beyond those in your study. )hus, the goal of uantitative approaches can be stated as, -empirical generali(ation to many..ualitative research, on the other hand, typically starts %ith a specific group, type of individual, event, or process. As in the ualitative study of adult survivors of childhood se$ual abuse e$ample above, you %ould choose your sample very purposefully and include in your study only those %ith this particular e$perience. )he goal of ualitative research can be stated as / in-depth understanding.,t is true that some aspects of uantitative sampling could be relevant to a ualitative researcher. #or e$ample, if you are interested in children0s e$periences of 1urricane 2atrina and you have access to 3,''' school children, all of %hom e$perienced the hurricane, you might choose to randomly sample &' children from the 3,''' for your ualitative study. ,n the case of ethnographic survey research, you might even see+ to obtain sample si(es similar to those in a uantitative design. ,t could be said, then, that there are more ambiguities than /rules- %hen it comes to ualitative research in general and that choosing a sampling strategy and sample si(e for ualitative research is no different. What is important to remember is that the strategy you adopt %ill be driven by the4 *esearch uestion!s"/purpose )ime frame of your study *esources available #ollo%ing is a list of common sampling strategies. As you read these strategies, thin+ of %hich %ould be most relevant for your area of interest. ,n many cases, you %ill see %ays to combine the strategies to create an effective approach. #or e$ample, you may use snowball sampling as a method to identify a set of extreme/deviant cases. )his is an e$ample of combination or mixed purposeful sampling. )hus these methods are not mutually e$clusive5 a research design may adopt a range of strategies. Common Qualitative Sampling Strategies 1 6$treme or Deviant 7ase Sampling89oo+s at highly unusual manifestations of the phenomenon of interest, such as outstanding success/notable failures, top of the class/dropouts, e$otic events, crises. )his strategy tries to select particular cases that
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%ould glean the most information, given the research uestion. <ne e$ample of an e$treme/deviant case related to battered %omen %ould be battered %omen %ho +ill their abusers. ,ntensity Sampling87hooses information=rich cases that manifest the phenomenon intensely, but not e$tremely, such as good students/poor students, above average/belo% average. )his strategy is very similar to e$treme/deviant case sampling as it uses the same logic. )he difference is that the cases selected are not as e$treme. )his type of sampling re uires that you have prior information on the variation of the phenomena under study so that you can choose intense, although not e$treme, e$amples. #or e$ample, heuristic research uses the intense, personal e$perience!s" of the researcher. ,f one %ere studying >ealousy, you %ould need to have had an intense e$perience %ith this particular emotion5 a mild or pathologically e$treme e$perience %ould not li+ely elucidate the phenomena in the same %ay as an intense e$perience. :a$imum ?ariation Sampling8Selects a %ide range of variation on dimensions of interest. )he purpose is to discover/uncover central themes, core elements, and/or shared dimensions that cut across a diverse sample %hile at the same time offering the opportunity to document uni ue or diverse variations. #or e$ample, to implement this strategy, you might create a matri$ !of communities, people, etc." %here each item on the matri$ is as different !on relevant dimensions" as possible from all other items. 1omogeneous Sampling8Brings together people of similar bac+grounds and e$periences. ,t reduces variation, simplifies analysis, and facilitates group intervie%ing. )his strategy is used most often %hen conducting focus groups. #or e$ample, if you are studying participation in a parenting program, you might sample all single=parent, female head of households. )ypical 7ase Sampling8#ocuses on %hat is typical, normal, and/or average. )his strategy may be adopted %hen one needs to present a ualitative profile of one or more typical cases. When using this strategy you must have a broad consensus about %hat is /average.- #or e$ample, if you %ere %or+ing to begin development pro>ects in )hird World countries, you might conduct a typical case sampling of /average- villages. Such a study %ould uncover critical issues to be addressed for most villages by loo+ing at the ones you sampled. 7ritical 7ase Sampling89oo+s at cases that %ill produce critical information. ,n order to use this method, you must +no% %hat constitutes a critical case. )his method permits logical generali(ation and ma$imum application of information to other cases because if it@s true of this one case, it@s li+ely to be true of all other case. #or e$ample, if you %ant to +no% if people understand a particular set of federal regulations, you may present the regulations to a group of highly educated people !/,f they can0t understand them, then most people probably cannot-" and/or you might present them to a group of under=educated people !/,f they can understand them, then most people probably can-". Sno%ball or 7hain Sampling8,dentifies cases of interest from people %ho +no% people %ho +no% %hat cases are information=rich, that is, %ho %ould be a good intervie% participant. )hus, this is an approach used for locating information=rich cases. Aou %ould begin by as+ing relevant people something li+e4 /Who +no%s a lot about BBBC- #or e$ample, you %ould as+ for nominations, until the nominations sno%ball, getting bigger and bigger. 6ventually, there should be a fe% +ey names that are mentioned repeatedly. 7riterion Sampling8Selects all cases that meet some criterion. )his strategy is typically applied %hen considering uality assurance issues. ,n essence, you choose cases that are information=rich and that might reveal a ma>or system %ea+ness that could be improved. #or e$ample, if the average length of stay for a certain surgical procedure is three days, you might set a criterion for being in the study as anyone

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%hose stay e$ceeded three days. ,ntervie%ing these cases may offer information related to aspects of the process/system that could be improved. )heory=Based or <perational 7onstruct or )heoretical Sampling 8dentifies manifestations of a theoretical construct of interest so as to elaborate and e$amine the construct. )his strategy is similar to criterion sampling, e$cept it is more conceptually focused. )his strategy is used in grounded theory studies. Aou %ould sample people/incidents, etc., based on %hether or not they manifest/represent an important theoretical or operational construct. #or e$ample, if you %ere interested in studying the theory of /resiliency- in adults %ho %ere physically abused as children, you %ould sample people %ho meet theory=driven criteria for /resiliency.7onfirming and Disconfirming Sampling See+s cases that are both /e$pected- and the /e$ception- to %hat is e$pected. ,n this %ay, this strategy deepens initial analysis, see+s e$ceptions, and tests variation. ,n this strategy you find both confirming cases !those that add depth, richness, credibility" as %ell as disconfirming cases !e$ample that do not fit and are the source of rival interpretations". )his strategy is typically adopted after initial field%or+ has established %hat a confirming case %ould be. #or e$ample, if you are studying certain negative academic outcomes related to environmental factors, li+e lo% S6S, lo% parental involvement, high teacher to student ratios, lac+ of funding for a school, etc. you %ould loo+ for both confirming cases !cases that evidence the negative impact of these factors on academic performance" and disconfirming cases !cases %here there is no apparent negative association bet%een these factors and academic performance". Stratified Purposeful Sampling8#ocuses on characteristics of particular subgroups of interest5 facilitates comparisons. )his strategy is similar to stratified random sampling !samples are ta+en %ithin samples", e$cept the sample si(e is typically much smaller. ,n stratified sampling you /stratify- a sample based on a characteristic. )hus, if you are studying academic performance, you %ould sample a group of belo% average performers, average performers, and above average performers. )he main goal of this strategy is to capture ma>or variations !although common themes may emerge". <pportunistic or 6mergent Sampling8#ollo%s ne% leads during field%or+, ta+es advantage of the une$pected, and is fle$ible. )his strategy ta+es advantage of %hatever unfolds as it is unfolding, and may be used after field%or+ has begun and as a researcher becomes open to sampling a group or person they may not have initially planned to intervie%. #or e$ample, you might be studying Dth grade students0 a%areness of a topic and reali(e you %ill gain additional understanding by including Eth grade students0 as %ell. Purposeful *andom Sampling89oo+s at a random sample. )his strategy adds credibility to a sample %hen the potential purposeful sample is larger than one can handle. While this is a type of random sampling, it uses small sample si(es, thus the goal is credibility, not representativeness or the ability to generali(e. #or e$ample, if you %ant to study clients at a drug rehabilitation program, you may randomly select &' of 3'' current cases to follo%. )his reduces >udgment %ithin a purposeful category, because the cases are pic+ed randomly and %ithout regard to the program outcome. Sampling Politically ,mportant 7ases8See+s cases that %ill increase the usefulness and relevance of information gained based on the politics of the moment. )his strategy attracts attention to the study !or avoids attracting undesired attention by purposefully eliminating from the sample politically sensitive cases". )his strategy is a variation on critical case sampling. #or e$ample, %hen studying voter behavior, one might choose the ;''' election, not only because it %ould provide insight, but also because it %ould li+ely attract attention. 7onvenience Sampling8Selects cases based on ease of accessibility. )his strategy saves time, money, and effort, ho%ever, has the %ea+est rationale along %ith the lo%est credibility. )his strategy may yield information=poor cases because cases are

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pic+ed simply because they are easy to access, rather than on a specific strategy/rationale. Sampling your co=%or+ers, family members or neighbors simply because they are /there- is an e$ample of convenience sampling. 7ombination or :i$ed Purposeful Sampling87ombines t%o or more strategies listed above. Basically, using more than one strategy above is considered combination or mi$ed purposeful sampling. )his type of sampling meets multiple interests and needs. #or e$ample, you might use chain sampling in order to identify e$treme or deviant cases. )hat is, you might as+ people to identify cases that %ould be considered e$treme/deviant and do this until you have consensus on a set of cases that you %ould sample.

Sample Sizes: Considerations When determining sample si(e for ualitative studies, it is important to remember that there are no hard and fast rules. )here are, ho%ever, at least t%o considerations4 &. "hat sample si#e will reach saturation or redundanc$% )hat is, ho% large does the sample need to be to allo% for the identification of consistent patternsC Some researchers say the si(e of the sample should be large enough to leave you %ith /nothing left to learn.- ,n other %ords, you might conduct intervie%s, and after the tenth one, reali(e that there are no ne% concepts emerging. )hat is, the concepts, themes, etc. begin to be redundant. ;. &ow large a sample is needed to represent the variation within target population% )hat is, ho% large must a sample be to in order to assess an appropriate amount of diversity or variation that is represented in the population of interestC Aou may estimate sample si(e, based on the approach of the study or the data collection method used. #or each category there are some related rules of thumb, represented in the tables belo%. *ules of )humb Based on Approach4 *esearch Approach Biography/7ase Study Phenomenology Frounded theory/ethnography/action research *ule of )humb Select one case or one person. Assess &' people. ,f you reach saturation prior to assessing ten people you may use fe%er. Assess ;'=3' people, %hich typically is enough to reach saturation.

*ules of )humb Based on Data 7ollection :ethod4 Data 7ollection :ethod ,ntervie%ing +ey informants ,n=depth intervie%s #ocus groups *ule of )humb ,ntervie% appro$imately five people. ,ntervie% appro$imately 3' people. 7reate groups that average E=&' people each. ,n addition, consider the number of focus groups you need based on /groupings- represented in the research uestion. )hat is, %hen studying males and females of three different age groupings, plan for si$ focus groups, giving you one for each gender and three age groups for each gender. Select a large and representative sample !purposeful or random based on purpose" %ith numbers similar to those in a uantitative study.

6thnographic surveys

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)here should also be consideration of the si(e of a good database4 one that %ill yield data that are of sufficient uality and uantity. While the uality of the data is impacted by the uality of the intervie% protocol, the uantity of data is also a factor. #or e$ample, %ith a %ell conceived intervie% protocol, a &'=;' hour database should provide enough data to support a solid ualitative dissertation. ,n this case, the follo%ing chart can be used4 Fuidelines for 9ength of ,ntervie%s4 Number of ,ntervie%s &' ;' 3' 9ength of each intervie% & G ; hours 3' minutes G & hour ;' G H' minutes

Ad>ustments may be made if there are other forms of ualitative data collection involved. #or e$ample, if there is a ; =hour focus group and &' intervie%s, the duration of the intervie%s might be shortened. Conclusion *egardless of the strategy or strategies you adopt for a study, and/or the sample si(e you plan for, you need to provide a rationale for your choices by articulating the e$pected benefits and %ea+nesses of any strategy/sample si(e you choose. A +ey component of any ualitative research design is fle$ibility. Accordingly, if you choose a ualitative research design, you must have high tolerance for ambiguity. References 7amic, P. :, *hodes, I. 6., J J Aardley, 9. !6d.". !;''3". Qualitative research in ps$cholog$( )xpanding perspectives in methodolog$ and design. Washington, D74 American Psychological Association. 7res%ell, I. W. !&KKL". Qualitative *n+uir$ , -esearch .esign( /hoosing 0mong #ive 1raditions. )housand <a+s4 7A. Sag Publications, ,nc. Dey, ,. !&KKK". 2rounding grounded theor$( 2uidelines for +ualitative in+uir$ . San Diego, 7A4 Academic Press. 1arter, S. !&KML". 6ffectance motivation reconsidered4 )o%ard a developmental model. &uman .evelopment, 21, 3HGDH. 1arter, S. !&KKK". 1he construction of the self( 0 developmental perspective . Ne% Aor+4 Fuilford. 1itchcoc+, I. 1, Nastasi, B. 2., Dai, D. 7., Ne%man, I., Iayasena, A., Bernstein=:oore, *., Sar+ar, S., J ?ar>as, 2. !;''H". ,llustrating a mi$ed=method approach for identifying and validating culturally specific constructs. Accepted for publication in 3ournal of 4chool Ps$cholog$. 9incoln, A. S., J Fuba, 6. F. !&KLE". 5aturalistic in+uir$. )housand <a+s4 7A. Sage Publications, ,nc. :iles, :. B., J 1uberman, A. :. !&KKH". Qualitative data anal$sis !;nd ed.". )housand <a+s, 7A4 Sage Publications, ,nc. Nastasi, B.2., :oore, *. B., J ?ar>as, 2. :. !;''H". 4chool-6ased 7ental &ealth 4ervices( /reating /omprehensive and /ulturall$ 4pecific Programs . Washington, D74 American Psychological Association. Nastasi, B. 2., ?ar>as, 2., Sar+ar, S., J Iayasena, A. !&KKL". Participatory model of mental health programming4 9essons learned from %or+ in a developing country. 4chool Ps$cholog$ -eview, 28 !;", ;D'G;MD. Patton, :. .. !;''&". Qualitative evaluation and research methods !3rd ed.". Ne%bury Par+, 7A4 Sage Publications, ,nc. Sar+ar, S. !;''3". 2ender as a cultural factor influencing mental health among adolescent students in *ndia and 4ri 9an:a. Nnpublished doctoral dissertation, Nniversity at Albany, SNNA.

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Schensul, I. I., J 9e7ompte, :. D. !6ds.". !&KKK". )thnographer<s tool:it( =olumes 1>8. Walnut 7ree+, 7A4 Alta:ira Press. ?ar>as, 2. :. !;''3". 0 participator$ culture-specific consultation ?P/4/@ approach to intervention development. Nnpublished doctoral dissertation, Nniversity at Albany, SNNA. Wolcott, 1. #. !&KK'". "riting up +ualitative research. )housand <a+s4 7A. Sage Publications, ,nc.

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