Recall from your previous research classes that creating a sample for a qualitative study is guided by very different principles than for those that guide quantitative study.

To prepare for this Discussion:

• There are “rules of thumb” that guide each qualitative approach. Review Patton’s chapter on sampling types, and study sampling strategies in research articles on the approach you have chosen.
• Review the articles on data saturation and theoretical saturation, and consider which criteria you will follow to estimate “how many.” Remember, in qualitative research, one case can be enough. If your phenomenon is complex or you are interested in a range of experiences, then you will need more cases.
• Reflect on your research problem and question. What are the essential characteristics of participants that you want to recruit?

ASSIGNMENT 

Prepare a Discussion post in which you address the following:

• Present the most current version of your research question and state the phenomenon of interest. (  Factors related to African American males being targets of police brutality at disproportionate rates   )
• Describe the criteria for inclusion and exclusion.
• Describe in detail the choices for sample size, data saturation, and theoretical saturation. Justify your choices with citations of research studies that use the same strategy and/or of methodological articles that describe the rationale.
• Put yourself in the participant’s position, and consider the assurances you would want to hear to ensure that your privacy is respected and that your identity will not be revealed when the study is published. Include those assurances in your invitation.

Required Readings

Patton, M. Q. (2015). Qualitative research & evaluation methods: Integrating theory and practice (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Chapter 7, “Qualitative Interviewing” (pp. 421–518)
Baker, S. E., Edwards, R., & Doidge, M. (2012). How many qualitative interviews is enough? Expert voices and early career reflections on sampling and cases in qualitative research. Retrieved from National Centre for Research Methods website: http://eprints.ncrm.ac.uk/2273/4/how_many_interviews
Baker, S.; Edwards, R. (2012). How Many Qualitative Interviews is Enough?: Expert Voices and Early Career Reflections on Sampling and Cases in Qualitative Research. National Centre for Research Methods, 1–42. Used with permission of Sarah Baker and Rosalind Edwards. 
Guest, G., Bunce, A., & Johnson, L. (2006). How many interviews are enough? An experiment with data saturation and variability. Field methods,18(1), 59-82.
Mason, M. (2010). Sample size and saturation in PhD studies using qualitative interviews. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung/Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 11(3), article 8. Retrieved from http://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs
Mason, Mark (2010). Sample Size and Saturation in PhD Studies Using Qualitative Interviews [63 paragraphs]. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 11(3), Art. 8, http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs100387. Used under The Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Seidman, I. (2012). Interviewing as qualitative research: A guide for researchers in education and the social sciences (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Teachers College.
Why Interview? Interviewing as Qualitative Research: A Guide for Researchers in Education and the Social Sciences, 3rd Edition by Seidman, I. Copyright 2006 by Teachers College Press. Reprinted by permission of Teachers College Press via the Copyright Clearance Center.
Chapter 1, “Why Interview” (pp. 7–14)