What is purposive sampling? Illustrate with an example

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

In purposive sampling, you sample with a purpose related to the kind of participant you're looking for. Usually you would be seeking one or more specific kinds of people or groups. For instance, have you ever run into people in a mall or on the street carrying clipboards and stopping various people and asking to interview them? Most likely, they are trying to get a purposive sample (and most likely, they are engaged in market or political research). They might be looking for Caucasian females between 30–40 years old. They size up the people passing by and stop people who look to be in that category and ask whether they will participate. One of the first things they're likely to do is verify that the respondent does in fact meet the criteria for being in the sample. Purposive sampling can be useful in situations where you need to reach a targeted sample quickly and where sampling for proportionality is not the primary concern. With a purposive sample, you are likely to get the opinions of your target population, but you are also likely to overrepresent subgroups in your population that are more readily accessible.