A graduate student has a close friend who is recovering from colon cancer and has a permanent colostomy. For the master's thesis, the student decides to conduct qualitative research on adjustment to living with a permanent colostomy after colon cancer resection. The student asks the friend for help in recruiting participants for the research. The friend identifies a colon cancer support group to which the friend belongs and volunteers to bring a printout of the research study's purpose and general description to the next support group meeting. If the researcher acquires all of the study participants in this way, what is the method of sampling used?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Snowball sampling involves participants recruiting other participants from among their acquaintances, which is what happens when the friend helps to recruit participants from a support group.

A Graduate Student Has a Close Friend Who Is Recovering