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Appendix J<br />

Sampling strategies for qualitative researchers<br />

(Miles and Huberman, 1994)<br />

Sampling<br />

Technique<br />

Variation sampling<br />

Homogenous sampling<br />

Critical case<br />

Theory based sampling<br />

Confirming and<br />

disconfirming cases<br />

Typical case<br />

Random purposeful<br />

Stratified purposeful<br />

Comprehensive<br />

Snowball or chain<br />

Convenience<br />

Procedure<br />

This is an approach to selecting as diverse a selection of variants within the sampling<br />

universe as possible, in order to investigate the possibility of a wide ranging common<br />

theme and to look for potentially disconfirming cases.<br />

This strategy selects a group with homogenous demographics, in order to intensively<br />

study a local phenomenon in detail and to generalise to that group only<br />

This approach selects an individual or cases that exemplifies a main finding – for<br />

example the great hypnotherapist Milton Erickson was studied in great detail by many<br />

researchers to uncover his methods for relieving psychological distress.<br />

The researcher samples incidents, slices of life, time periods or people on the basis of<br />

their potential manifestation of important theoretical constructs. The guiding theory<br />

can be a priori or it can be emergent.<br />

This approach looks for disconfirming, or simply confirming cases, of a theory.<br />

These may be extreme or unusual manifestations of the phenomenon. Theories are<br />

ousted in science when sufficient exceptions to a rule or conceptual link can be found,<br />

and this may be attempted this way.<br />

While critical case sampling looks for an intense manifestation of something, typical<br />

case sampling looks for typical examples of a phenomenon, in order to illustrate its<br />

normative manifestation.<br />

A random sample within a purposively defined group that is information-rich in the<br />

area that is being studied.<br />

Stratification is used to divide a sampling universe into bands or groups, when those<br />

different groups may manifest potentially differing data and a full diversity of<br />

responses is required, or if there is an objective to compare groups.<br />

This involves sampling all possible cases within a sample universe. This may be<br />

possible if your sample frame is very small.<br />

A snowball or chain strategy is one in which participants give leads to others. It may<br />

be useful if the kind of person and case is hard to find.<br />

This sample is confined by the issue of convenience and practicality, for time and<br />

resources are limited in most research projects.<br />

279

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