Snowball samplingi berg major reference works wiley. In other words, snowball sampling method is a good mechanism to obtain additional referrals from respondents to generate additional interview participants. Purposeful sampling for qualitative data collection and. An illustration of the snowball sampling technique. Spatial sampling spatial sampling is an area of survey sampling associated with sampling in two or more dimensions. Snowball sampling is a type of convenience sampling method that is usually applied when it is difficult to acquire respondents with target characteristics naderifar et. Scholars have posited several anecdotally based recommendations for enhancing the diversity of snowball samples. Snowball sampling is a nonprobability sampling technique that is used by researchers to identify potential subjects in studies where subjects are hard to locate.
Snowball subject recruitment, which can also be referred to as snowball sampling or chain referral and is associated with respondent driven sampling, is used as a method to recruit participants in a research study. Snowball sampling social research update university of surrey. Snowball sampling or chainreferralsampling of a hidden. Application of quota sampling ensures that sample group represents certain characteristics of the population chosen by the researcher. To assess the representativeness of samples obtained by snowball sampling, we compared participants in the pooled snowball surveys to participants in a mail survey conducted in 1996 in a representative sample of the geneva population. Each member of the population has a known and typically equal. County mental directors, agency directors, and program managers were recruited to represent the policy interests of. Snowball sampling friend of friend you initially contact a few potential respondents and then ask them whether they know of anybody with the same characteristics that you are looking for in your research. The hermeneutics of snowball sampling in qualitative research, international journal of social research methodology, 11. International journal of doctoral studies, 10, 279299. The first purposive sampling as a tool for informant selection ma. In sociology, snowball sampling refers to a nonprobability sampling technique which includes purposive sampling in which a researcher begins with a small population of known individuals and expands the sample by asking those initial participants to. In this study, we performed the first quantitative, mediumn analysis of snowball sampling to identify pathways to sample diversity, analysing 211 reachouts conducted via snowball sampling, resulting in 81 interviews. Snowball sampling has been widely used in qualitative sociological research, especially in the study of deviant behavior and is used in the place where the population is hard to reach.
Snowball subject recruitment sage research methods. The method yields a study sample through referrals. Snowball sampling is applied when samples with the target characteristics are not easily accessible. Unlike convenience samples, research subjects are selected for specific attributes that preliminary research has defined as targets. A manual for selecting sampling techniques in research 4 preface the manual for sampling techniques used in social sciences is an effort to describe various types of sampling methodologies that are used in researches of social sciences in an easy and understandable way. Kaplan, charles, korf, dirk, sterk, claire 1987 temporal and social contexts of heroinusing populations. If youre interested in researching a specific group of people, like restaurant managers or crime victims, you need to recruit participants for your study. International journal of doctoral studies volume 10, 2015 cite as. Using social media and targeted snowball sampling to survey a. Snowball sampling also known as chainreferral sampling is a nonprobability nonrandom sampling method used when characteristics to be possessed by samples are rare and difficult to find. Quota sampling method is a nonprobability sampling and it can be defined as a sampling method of gathering representative data from a group. The name reflects an analogy to a snowball increasing in size as it rolls downhill.
Because oftheconfusion surrounding thisterm, ingile and handcock 2010 we prefer, and use throughout that paper, the more precise broad category linktracing sampling while paying homage to the intellectual descent of the methods from snowball sampling. For example, if you are studying the level of customer satisfaction among elite nirvana bali golf club in bali, you will find it increasingly difficult to find primary data sources unless a member is. In this study, we performed the first quantitative, mediumn analysis of snowball sampling to identify. If the aim of a study is primarily explorative, qualitative and descriptive, then snowball sampling offers practical advantages hendricks, blanken and adriaans, 1992. For example, if you wanted to interview a sample of vegetarians cyclists people with a particular. This research describes snowball sampling as a purposeful method of data.
Using social media and targeted snowball sampling to. In section 6 of the present paper some results for snowball sampling based on an initial sample of the more usual kind are obtained and compared with results presented in the earlier sections of this paper obtained for snowball sampling based on an initial binomial sample. Sampling and sampling methods online journal publishing. Snowball sampling has been widely used in qualitative sociological research, especially in the. In this research, kath browne used social networks to research nonheterosexual women. This research describes snowball sampling as a purposeful method of data collection in qualitative research. The article provides the description and comparison of two nonrandom samplings which are snowball or chain referral sampling and sequential sampling. Snowball sampling is a special nonprobability method used when. Using the purposive sampling method in choosing a sampling method for informant selection, the question the researcher is interested in answering is of utmost importance. If you have access to a journal via a society or association membership, please browse to your society journal, select an article to view, and follow the instructions in this box. Enhancing the sample diversity of snowball samples. Snowball sampling snowball sampling is a recruitment method in which an investigator enlists the help of a research subject in identifying, and possibly recruiting, additional subjects. Snowball sampling is used to recruit samples when members of the desired population are hard to reach or access because they feel disempowered, socially excluded, or vulnerable. Snowball sampling was probably the only sampling method that could have been used to obtain a reasonably representative sample of injecting drug users.
Definitions of the research populations, including target and accessible groups, are given. Snowball sampling is defined as a nonprobability sampling technique in which the samples have traits that are rare to find. Independent sampling independent samples are those samples selected from the same population, or different populations, which have no effect on one another. Engaging marginalized populations in holistic research abstract womanist and feminist qualitative researchers continue to identify research methods and techniques that harness the power of social networking and personal connections while engaging with marginalized populations. It is useful when the researcher know little about a group or organisation. In this blog you will read about the types and method of snowball sampling along with its advantages and disadvantages. Rds is not a variant of either usage of snowball sampling, nor is the reverse true.
Sampling methods, random sampling, multistage cluster sampling, random route method, quota sampling 1. Media and targeted snowball sampling 282 ples and the asystematic recruitment of research subjects in convenience samples on the one hand and the more rigid cluster and stratified samples on the other. Purposive sampling as a tool for informant selection. Aug 22, 2018 in this study, we performed the first quantitative, mediumn analysis of snowball sampling to identify pathways to sample diversity, analysing 211 reachouts conducted via snowball sampling, resulting in 81 interviews. Snowball sampling can be applied for two primary purposes. Probability sampling is any sampling scheme in which the probability of choosing each individual is the same or at least known, so it can be readjusted mathematically. Pdf comparision of snowball sampling and sequential. In this recruitment strategy, a participant recruits people he or she knows to be in the study, those new participants then recruit. Snowball sampling is an especially useful strategy when a researcher wishes to study a stigmatized group or behavior.
This method relies on referrals from initially sampled. Snowball sampling is a recruitment technique in which research participants are asked to assist researchers in identifying other potential subjects. Random sampling methods involve some form of random selection of the members of the population. In sociology, snowball sampling refers to a nonprobability sampling technique which includes purposive sampling in which a researcher begins with a small population of known individuals and expands the sample by asking those initial participants to identify others that should participate in the study. Pdf snowball sampling is a wellknown, nonprobability method of. 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. Snowball sampling in qualitative research sampling knowledge. Snowball sampling is a wellknown, nonprobability method of survey sample selection that is commonly used to locate hidden populations. According to research mentioned in the paper written by kath browne, using social networks to research is accessible. Pdf comparision of snowball sampling and sequential sampling.
International journal of social research methodology. An il lustration of the snowball sampling technique, the journal of. Snowball sampling is a nonprobability based sampling technique that can be used to gain access to such populations. Each member of the population has a known and typically equal probability of being selected for the sample. Dec 20, 20 snowball sampling is a type of nonrandom nonprobability sampling method a is false. Contact us if you experience any difficulty logging in. Snowball sampling in qualitative research sampling. Snowball sampling produced a data set that added value to extant archival and media sources, rendering detailed information about firm operations, strategies, and innovations. Access to society journal content varies across our titles. That is, no correlation exists between the samples. Despite its widespread use, especially for recruiting informants for multisource research, virtually no published research has addressed possible biases snowball sampling may. Comparision of snowball sampling and sequential sampling. A manual for selecting sampling techniques in research.
Engaging marginalized populations in holistic research abstract womanist and feminist qualitative researchers continue to identify research methods and techniques that harness the power of social networking and personal connections while. Firstly, and most easily, as an informal method to reach a target population. This approach allows you to utilise the original group as informants who can help in identifying additional people to interview who qualify for inclusion and these, in turn, identify yet. Creating a snowball sample to create a snowball sample, there are two steps. Nonprobability sampling which include accidental sampling, purposive sampling, quota sampling and referral sampling which can be divided into network and snowball sampling. The construction of the sample was also revealing of the industry itself, with interviewee referral chains connecting individuals across firms, industry sectors, and. Sampling and sampling methods online journal publishing groups. In snowball sampling for multisource studies, researchers ask target participants to recruit informants. The use of snowball sampling for multi source organizational. The hermeneutics of snowball sampling in qualitative research. Snowball sampling is a type of nonrandom nonprobability sampling method a is false.
The article also assesses various factors that determine the choice of a sample design, which include the stage of the research process, availability of resources and the. Using social media and targeted snowball sampling to survey a hardtoreach population. Snowball sampling is a recruitment method that employs research into participants social networks to access specific populations. For example, a researcher who wanted to study how people with genital herpes cope with their medical condition would be unlikely to find many participants by posting a call for interviewees in the newspaper or making an. Snowball sampling uses a small pool of initial informants to nominate other participants who meet the eligibility criteria for a study. They require more work, but are much more accurate. Despite its widespread use, especially for recruiting informants for multisource research, virtually no published research has addressed possible biases snowball sampling may cause in findings of this type of research. Snowball sampling research office oregon state university. Journal of the royal statistical society b series, no 8, pg. The question will decide the objectives on which the methodology will be based. Snowball sampling problems and techniques of chain referral sampling patrick blernackl sun francisco state university dan waldorf pacific institute for research and evaluation nowball or chain referral sampling is a method that has s been widely used in qualitative sociological research.
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