Purposive Sampling Types

Researchers utilize various strategies, including purposive sampling, to gather data. Several purposive sampling subtypes include:

Sampling for Maximum Variation

It is used to gather a diverse group of individuals with various points of view to examine a certain topic. It can reveal recurring themes. Varying from common diseases to others that are rarer or more intense by their nature.

By condition, it is meant numerous study components, such as individuals, cases, various data sets, companies, etc. The main goal of maximum variation sampling is to get a broader and deeper understanding of phenomena by considering them from all angles and viewpoints.

Integrated Sampling

Here, you must choose a small, homogenous group of individuals or units for the research’s investigation and analysis. Concerning age, gender, employment, background, etc., the sampling aims to provide a homogenous sample whose units share comparable features or attributes.

Deviant or extreme case sampling

It focuses on extraordinary instances that are uncommon or rare by definition. It draws attention to the senses with remarkable results, accomplishments, or failures. Research students may create a thrilling impact on their lecturers and provide something special to their fields of study with the aid of deviant case sampling. The extreme instances contribute significantly to our understanding of phenomena and can serve as a lesson or a guide for future study or practice.

Case-by-Case Analysis

Critical case sampling is performed in exploratory qualitative research or any research with few sources. The research team must define the essential characteristics of a case to discover key issues. It is also used to test a hypothesis by selecting a case that allows for logical inferences. This allows for the greatest amount of logical generalization and information transfer to other cases because, if it holds for this particular case, it is likely to hold for all other cases.

Common Case Sampling

Using a typical case sample, you can investigate a problem or trend connected to what is regarded as “typical” or “average” individuals in the impacted community. You will understand, for instance, how a certain educational curriculum impacts the typical student.

The researcher then decides to concentrate on typical students in the student population. The units of analysis are huge in this form of purposive sampling. This approach is helpful if readers of the research report are primarily outside the field of study.

Sample of the whole population

Researchers use this method to analyze the whole population with special characteristics, such as a specific experience. Because the population with the specific qualities you are interested in is small, the entire population is frequently picked in this situation.

Skilled sampling

Expert sampling is utilized to collect information from people with specific experience in the study subject. This method is employed when you require the opinions or evaluation of individuals with an extensive understanding of the subject field. It is useful when there is a shortage of empirical data, there is a great deal of ambiguity, and it can take a while before study findings are discovered.