My Colleague's Choice of Sampling Strategy and Critique

I agree with my colleague's explanation that Yob and Brewer's (n.d.) study utilized purposeful, referral sampling technique. This sampling technique is also called snowball sampling. According to Salazar, Crosby, and DiClemente (2015), snowball sampling is used to identify and recruit hard-to-reach populations and their networks. Specifically, Yower and Brewer (n.d.) noted that interviewees were "identified by their colleagues, teachers, or mentors as active participants in social change activities and possessing ability and willingness to articulate their understandings in a considered way."

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Even though this sampling method is crucial in obtaining a sample that can answer the research questions and address the aim of the study, it has limitations. First, snowball sampling is a non-random sampling approach. Consequently, there is a high likelihood of having sampling bias (D'Alessandro, Lowe, Winzar, Zikmund, & Babin, 2017; O'Sullivan, Rassel, Berner, & Taliaferro, 2016; VanGeest, Johnson, & Alemagno, 2017). Because of issues with sampling bias, the results of a study that utilizes a snowball sampling method lacks generalizability (Austin & Pinkleton, 2015; Maruyama & Ryan, 2014).

Expanding my Colleague's Ideas Regarding Strategies for Improving Saturation of Data

I want to agree with my colleague that in Yob and Brewer's (n.d.), the researchers made adequate efforts to ensure that data saturation is attained. I also want to expand that one of the ways through which data saturation was achieved is by use of an adequate sample of 30 participants. That is, Yob and Brewer (n.d.) gathered data for their study by interviewing 30 participants. This sample surpasses 12 interviews, which should be adequate to attain data saturation (Flick, 2017; Green & Thorogood, 2018).

References

Austin, E. W., & Pinkleton, B. E. (2015). Strategic public relations management: planning and managing effective communication campaigns. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.

Charmaz, K. (2014). Constructing grounded theory. New York, NY: SAGE.

D'Alessandro, S., Lowe, B., Winzar, H., Zikmund, W., & Babin, B. J. (2017). Marketing research: Asia-Pacific edition. Boston, MA: Cengage.

Flick, U. (2017). The sage handbook of qualitative data collection. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

Green, J., & Thorogood, N. (2018). Qualitative methods for health research. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

Klenke, K. (2016). Qualitative research in the study of leadership. Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing.

Maruyama, G., & Ryan, C. S. (2014). Research methods in social relations. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Mulligan, J. M., & Castaneda, H. (2017). Unequal coverage: the experience of health care reform in the united states. New York, NY: NYU Press.

O'Sullivan, E., Rassel, G., Berner, M., & Taliaferro, J. D. (2016). Research methods for public administrators. Abingdon, UK: Taylor & Francis.

Salazar, L. F., Crosby, R. A., & DiClemente, R. J. (2015). Research methods in health promotion. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

VanGeest, J. B., Johnson, T. P., & Alemagno, S. A. (2017). Research methods in the study of substance abuse. New York, NY: Springer.