'What's your favorite color?' Reporting irrelevant demographics in qualitative research.

摘要

Much has been written about how to obtain participants for qualitative studies, and the means by which participants should be located. Less has been written about the norms for describing these samples. Types of qualitative samples range from volunteer and convenience samples to the most purposefully selected sample. Particularly in grounded theory and ethnography, the criteria for sample selection-or the investigator's rationale for selecting certain individuals to participate in a study-changes according to the theoretical needs of data analysis at that particular moment. Sometimes an individual may be selected to add some missing piece of data; at other times an entire group of participants may be targeted and interviewed until the researcher comes to understand something puzzling but necessary for comprehending the developing explanation or theory. Once understanding is obtained, the researcher moves on to locate other participants who have other kinds of information necessary to complete or to verify the study.