Which sampling method relies on initial participants recruiting additional participants through referrals, often with incentives for recruitment, when studying a hard-to-reach population?

Which sampling method relies on initial participants recruiting additional participants through referrals, often with incentives for recruitment, when studying a hard-to-reach population?

• A. Respondent-driven sampling
• B. Snowball sampling
• C. Purposive sampling
• D. Convenience sampling

Answer: (B)

Snowball sampling is a chain-referral approach used when studying groups that are hard to reach. You start with a few initial participants who meet the study criteria, and they refer people they know who also fit. Those recruits then refer others, and the process continues, expanding the sample much like a snowball rolling downhill. Incentives for recruitment are common to encourage participants to spread the word and bring in peers. This method fits the scenario because it relies on social networks to grow the sample when there’s no easy list or frame of the population. Purposive sampling focuses on deliberately choosing individuals with specific characteristics but doesn’t rely on referrals; convenience sampling depends on who is easiest to access rather than network-driven recruitment; respondent-driven sampling is a more formal variant intended to produce population estimates through weighting, though it also uses referrals.

Snowball sampling is a chain-referral approach used when studying groups that are hard to reach. You start with a few initial participants who meet the study criteria, and they refer people they know who also fit. Those recruits then refer others, and the process continues, expanding the sample much like a snowball rolling downhill. Incentives for recruitment are common to encourage participants to spread the word and bring in peers. This method fits the scenario because it relies on social networks to grow the sample when there’s no easy list or frame of the population. Purposive sampling focuses on deliberately choosing individuals with specific characteristics but doesn’t rely on referrals; convenience sampling depends on who is easiest to access rather than network-driven recruitment; respondent-driven sampling is a more formal variant intended to produce population estimates through weighting, though it also uses referrals.