Know All about Purposive Sampling | Definition, Example & FAQs

16 Apr 2024 95 share it:

Do you want to work on a research paper, but you have no idea about purposive sampling? Are you about to miss your submission deadline? Do not worry at all! If you face any issue and do not know any solution to your write-up, you can pay for assignments to our experts. But, if you want to learn about it, you can read this blog and gain all the insightful knowledge. Firstly let's begin with the meaning and example of it.

What is Purposive Sampling? It's Examples

Purposive sampling is also known as selective, judgmental or subjective sampling. It is a type of non-probability sampling where researchers depend on their decisions while choosing several populations to partake in their surveys.

In this sampling method, researchers must have earlier knowledge about their investigations. It becomes easy to choose and approach suitable individuals or participants for surveys conducted. This method is used when they want to get data from a particular subset of people, as all individuals in a survey are selected according to their profile. It was a quick overview of purposive sampling, and to understand it in a better way, let's look at the examples of it.

• A purposive sampling example of homogeneous sampling: A group of individuals sharing similar traits, that is, age, gender, employment, and background.
• An example of typical sampling: You are researching the reaction of 10th-grade students on their board exams. Therefore, this method can help you select individuals with similar answers from four additional states.

Hopefully, you must have understood the meaning and examples. But, to write a research paper flawlessly, you should also know why use purposive sampling and its techniques. Do you know it? Well, do not worry! In the next section, we will discuss this.

Importance and Techniques of Purposive Sampling

Many scholar's minds revolve around the query, what is the importance, and the purposive sampling technique. So, learn and understand both the terms one by one. Therefore, the significance is:

• It works best when you need to select a specific group of individuals for analysis.
• It is correct to use when the researcher has a clear idea about the interest they have in particular attributes in the study that they want to select as a sample.

Now, it is time to gain insightful knowledge of the techniques of purposive sampling to flawlessly work on your coursework writing.

1. Identify Your Research Problem:

Before beginning with the sampling, it is a must to have a clear perspective of what you want to accomplish and the kind of individuals you are exploring. Moreover, it should be according to your research question, hypothetical framework and goals.

2. Determine Your Population:

It is crucial to know and define the individuals you have selected for your survey because you will gather the selection from the population. Also, by determining the target members, you can easily conclude.

3. Specify the Characteristics of the Sample:

It is essential to recognise the individuals in the population who have a particular experience or characteristics. Therefore, you can pick the members suitable for your study or case.

4. Gather Data with the Correct Method:

To choose an appropriate method is a must. Therefore, based on the research question and type of data you will pick, you can now decide which data collection method fits best with your study.

5. Interpret and Review Your Results:

When you need to deal with small purposive sampling, it is the most effective method. However, it is also a biased method, so due to such reason, you need to identify and study the research bias in the methodology section of your document.

Did you enjoy learning the importance and techniques of purposive sampling? Yay! Regardless, this is not it. Have you ever heard that there are different types of purposive sampling that you can use according to your study or case? What you have not? Do not worry! Keep the same energy to learn about this in the next section.

What Are the Types of Purposive Sampling?

There are various types of purposive sampling that you can use to determine your research objectives. Therefore, to know how to use this in your paper, seek assignment help from our experts. However, now it is time to learn one by one to understand what is the best method for your document.

1. Maximum Variation Sampling:

It is also known as heterogeneous sampling, where the researcher chooses a small group of individuals to cover the broadest range of perspectives possible on a particular case.

2. Homogeneous Sampling:

It is a process to analyse and examine a case by selecting a small group of individuals. Moreover, it comes in use when the researcher wants to research to study a group in depth.

3. Typical Case Sampling:

It is used when researchers want to highlight a profile of what is considered average to those who are unfamiliar with it. This sampling works best on large and complex programs.

4. Extreme Case Sampling:

It is also known as deviant sampling, in which the researchers generally focus on a study that is unusual or special. It includes outstanding successes or notable failures or outcomes.

5. Critical Case Sampling:

This sampling is used mainly in a single or small number of studies that can also be used for more similar cases. In easy words, what is right for one case might be true for all other similar studies.

6. Expert Sampling:

This sampling is used when the researchers need appropriate results from the participants. So, this is usually held with individuals who have a high level of knowledge about a particular topic.

These are the types of purposive sampling in qualitative research and quantitative analysis that will surely help you with having a correct survey. Now, let's understand the advantages and disadvantages also.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Purposive Sampling

Everything has its benefits and drawbacks, likewise, today you will study the purposive sampling advantages and disadvantages. So, first, we will go through the pros and then the cons. Let's get started.

Advantages of Purposive Sampling

• It allows the researcher to choose a sample according to their interest in studying.
• It is best when you need to do qualitative research because it allows the researcher to collect in-depth data on specific ideas or issues.
• It is practical and efficient to compare the different sampling methods when doing a small-scale research study.
• It provides flexibility when it comes to the selection of the sample, which is used by the researcher while studying unusual or a rare phenomenon.
• It is less expensive when we compare it with different sampling methods because it does not need a random selection process.
• These were the few advantages of purposive sampling. Now, it is time to look at the disadvantages. So, carefully read it. It will be helpful for data analysis. However, if you get stuck, you can seek data analysis assignment help from our experts.

Disadvantages of Purposive Sampling

• The researcher should ensure that the study being conducted is ethical and the personal information of the participants is protected.
• There are limited generalities, and due to this, it is not possible to conduct a study for a large population. Also, it produces a lop-sided research where some participants are being excluded from the survey.

We hope you have understood the purposive sampling advantages and disadvantages that you need to keep in mind while working on your research paper. But, after all this information, if you still face any issues. Do not fret! By reading the next part you will get a solution as a backup.

Want to Know about Purposive Sampling Research Paper? Ask Us!

Students often have a common question in their mind and it goes what is purposive sampling and how to use it while writing a research paper? So, now everything remains with how to write it. Fear not! Our team of writers are always ready to assist you in any situation! Moreover, with the quality write-up, they also ensure that the document is free from all writing mistakes and 100% uniqueness. So, why are you waiting? Go now and get your hands on our research paper writing service.

FAQs

1. What Is the Difference between Random Sampling and Purposive Sampling?

To understand the difference between random and purposive sampling check the attached table below.

2. What Is a Good Sample Size for Purposive Sampling?

The sample size for purposive sampling depends on the research question and the attributes or characteristics that the researcher is interested in studying. Moreover, generally, the category of good sample size will be 30 individuals. However, for larger sample sizes, it can be 100 or more individuals according to the case.

3. What Is the Difference Between Purposive Sampling and Convenience Sampling?

To understand purposive sampling vs convenience sampling, carefully have a glance at the table attached below.

4. What Is Non-probability Sampling?

A non-probability sampling is a sample to select based on non-random criteria. Moreover, every member of the population does not get a chance of being included. The few common methods are convenience sampling, purposive sampling, voluntary response sampling, snowball sampling, and quota sampling.

5. What Are the Benefits of Purposive Sampling in Qualitative Research?

The benefit of purposive sampling is that it allows investigators to carefully pick individuals that can help them get insights into these unique groups, which is difficult to identify with random sampling.