On Mon, 8 Apr 2013, Rick Froman went:
As to the snowball technique, it is quite common in qualitative studies where the "representativeness" of the sample is irrelevant (and it is very difficult to find many participants so you rely on the few you find recruiting their own friends. Qualitative research has no concept of a larger population of which this sample is a representative microcosm. All that matters is that you correctly communicate the experience of those that end up in your sample. Thinking that such a sample could serve as well for the quantitative research, which has entirely different assumptions, seems to indicate that they are really just using the "it's just qualitative" fall-back when their quantitative data is questioned.
And as the original poster, I want to emphasize that I greatly value qualitative research. Focus groups, interviews, and ethnographic immersion can provide knowledge you would never get from other approaches. (I'm a coauthor on a focus-group paper, and I'm quite proud of it, even though no one ever cites it.) You just need to write clearly about what you're doing--and speak up real loud if it's misrepresented in a press release or a spate of mass-media coverage. --David Epstein [email protected] --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=24851 or send a blank email to leave-24851-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
