Introduction

*This image was created using napkin.ai; however, the concept, design direction, and creative vision were conceived by Dr. Knight and Chris Cardenas

Every research study begins with a question, but answering that question requires carefully selecting who or what will be observed. In this chapter, we explore the essential concepts and decisions involved in the sampling process, which includes identifying your population, selecting a sample, and determining how you will recruit and include participants.

You’ll learn the difference between a population, a sample, and a census and how researchers use sampling frames to guide their participant selection. We’ll also examine how researchers make decisions about inclusion and exclusion criteria, address sampling bias, and navigate the ethical and practical concerns of working with vulnerable populations.

In addition to selecting who or what to observe, researchers must also consider how to invite participation—a process known as recruitment. Recruitment refers to the process by which researchers inform potential participants about a study and ask them to participate. In this chapter, we will explore the factors involved in recruitment, including how they relate to ethical research practices and influence the overall quality of a study.

Finally, this chapter introduces the two main categories of sampling—probability and nonprobability—and explains why researchers choose one approach over the other. Understanding the strengths and limitations of each approach helps researchers select the sampling method that best aligns with their study’s purpose and ethical considerations.

Whether you’re conducting exploratory qualitative research or a large-scale quantitative survey, understanding sampling methods is crucial for producing meaningful, ethical, and credible results.

* AI was used to help organize my thoughts and suggest clarifying sentences, but all ideas and final writing are entirely my own.