Sampling in Qualitative Research

This chapter focuses on sampling in qualitative research. Qualitative researchers tend to emphasize the importance of purposive sampling for their work as it places the investigator's research questions at the heart of the sampling considerations. The chapter explains that purposive sampling is the fundamental principle for selecting cases and individuals in qualitative research. It then covers the notion of theoretical sampling relying on statistical criteria as an alternative strategy, and theoretical saturation, which is a useful principle for making decisions about sample size. The chapter also notes that purposive sampling often involves more than one of the approaches, such as general purposive sampling and snowball sampling.