Multiple choice questions
Question 1
Probability sampling is rarely used in qualitative research because:
a) Qualitative researchers are not trained in statistics
b) It is very old-fashioned
c) It is often not feasible
d) Research questions are more important than sampling
Question 2
The two levels of sampling used by Savage et al. (2005) for the Manchester study were:
a) Random and purposive
b) Convenience and snowball
c) Statistical and non-statistical
d) Contexts and participants
Question 3
Which of the following is not a type of purposive sampling?
a) Probability sampling
b) Deviant case sampling
c) Theoretical sampling
d) Snowball sampling
Question 4
What is involved in "purposive sampling" for grounded theory?
a) Using a random numbers table to select a representative sample of people
b) Strategically selecting respondents who are likely to provide relevant data
c) Deciding on a sampling strategy early on and pursuing it relentlessly
d) Sampling units of time rather than individual persons
Question 5
What is meant by the term "theoretical saturation"?
a) Deciding on a theory and then testing it repeatedly
b) The point at which a concept is so well developed that no further data collection is necessary
c) The problem of having used too many theories in one's data analysis
d) A state of frustration caused by having used every possible statistical test without finding any significant results
Question 6
Generic purposive sampling can be characterized as being:
a) Fixed and a priori
b) Fixed and ad-hoc
c) Contingent and post-hoc
d) Contingent and ad infinitum
Question 7
The minimum sample size for qualitative interviewing is:
a) 30
b) 31
c) 60
d) It's hard to say
Question 8
Why is an ethnographic study unlikely to use a probability sample?
a) Because the aim of understanding is more important than that of generalization
b) Because the researcher cannot control who is willing to talk to them
c) Because it is difficult to identify a sampling frame
d) All of the above
Question 9
Apart from people, what else can purposive sampling be used for?
a) Documents
b) Timing of events
c) Context
d) All of the above
Question 10
What can be generalized from a purposive sample?
a) That the findings are true for broadly similar cases
b) That the findings are true for the entire population
c) That the opposite is true for people who are the opposite of those in the sample
d) That purposive sampling is better than probability sampling