Snowball sampling

How it is used

Useful for network recruitment; connections can shape the resulting sample.

Example sentences

1. Through snowball sampling, the first interviewees introduced us to other former employees.

   Existing participants supplied the next contacts.

2. Our snowball sampling reached only one friendship network, which limited the study.

   Referral chains can leave other networks unrepresented.

Common collocations

• use snowball sampling
• snowball sampling approach

Related terms

• participantA person who takes part in a study, for example by answering a questionnaire, being interviewed or completing an experiment.
• sampling methodThe procedure used to choose cases, people, or items from a larger group for a study.

More terms: Research Design

• research
• research question
• hypothesis
• methodology
• qualitative
• quantitative
• sample
• questionnaire
• case study
• carry out
• validity
• reliability