SNOWBALL SAMPLING

DEFINITION OF SNOWBALL SAMPLING

A snowball sample is a non-probability sampling technique that is appropriate to use in research when the members of a population are difficult to locate. Nonprobability
sampling does not attempt to select a random sample from the population of interest. Rather, subjective methods are used to decide which elements are included in the sample.
In contrast, in probability sampling, each element in the population has a known nonzero chance of being selected through the use of a random selection procedure.
A snowball sample is one in which the researcher collects data on the few members of the target population he or she can locate, then asks those individuals to provide
information needed to locate other members of that population whom they know.
Researchers use this sampling method if the sample for the study is very rare or is limited to a very small subgroup of the population. This type of sampling technique works
like chain referral. After observing the initial subject, the researcher asks for assistance from the subject to help identify people with a similar trait of interest.
sampling is hardly likely to lead a representative sample, but there are times when it may be the best or only method available. For instance, if you are studying the homeless,
you are not likely to find a list of all the homeless people in your city. However, if you identify one or two homeless individuals that are willing to participate in your study, it
is likely that they know other homeless individuals in their area and can help you locate them. The same goes for underground subcultures, or any population that might want
to keep their identity hidden, such as undocumented immigrants or ex-convicts
Because snowball sampling is hardly representative of the larger study population, it is primarily used for exploratory purposes. That is, the researcher is feeling out a topic
or population to study further in-depth at a later time. Exploratory studies are typically done for three purposes: to satisfy the researchers curiosity and desire for better
understanding, to test the feasibility of undertaking a more extensive study, and to develop the methods to be employed in any subsequent studies.

If a researcher wishes to interview undocumented immigrants from Mexico, he or she might interview a few undocumented individuals that he or she knows or can
locate and would then rely on those subjects to help locate more undocumented individuals. This process continues until the researcher has all the interviews he or
she needs or until all contacts have been exhausted.

The characteristic of this type of sampling is that it is not used to estimate the characteristics of the general population but to estimate the characteristics of network
of hidden populations (rare, difficult to identify).The term hidden population, synonym to very seldom population or "difficult to encounter population, is
used to refer in general to populations on which there are not official information, or which represent less than 2% of the population. Hidden doesnt necessarily
have the meaning of illegal, but unobserved, unregistered, or under the radar.

TYPES OF SNOWBALL SAMPLING

1.Linear snowball sampling. Formation of a sample group starts with only one subject and the subject provides only one referral. The referral is recruited into the sample
group and he/she also provides only one new referral. This pattern is continued until the sample group is fully formed.

2. Exponential non-discriminative snowball sampling. The first subject recruited to the sample group provides multiple referrals. Each new referral is explored until
primary data from sufficient amount of samples are collected.

3. Exponential discriminative snowball sampling. Subjects give multiple referrals, however, only one new subject is recruited among them. The choice of a new subject
is guided by the aim and objectives of the study.

ADVANTAGES OF SNOWBALL SAMPLING

Snowball sampling is a useful choice of sampling strategy when the population you are interested in studying is hidden or hard-to-reach. This includes populations are
such to social stigma and marginalization, such as suffers of AIDS/HIV, as well as individuals engaged in illicit or illegal activities, including prostitution and drug use.
Snowball sampling is useful in such scenarios because:
It can be difficult to identifying units to include in your sample, perhaps because there is no obvious list of the population you are interested in. For example, there are no
lists of drug users or prostitutes that a researcher could get access to, especially lists that could be considered representative of the population of drug users or prostitutes.
The sensitivity of coming forward to take part in research is more acute in such research contexts. Individuals that are drug users or prostitutes, for example, are likely to
be less willing to identify themselves and take part in a piece of research than many other social groups. However, since snowball sampling involves individuals recruiting
other individuals to take part in a piece of research, there may be common characteristics, traits and other social factors between those individuals that help to break down
some of the natural barriers that prevent such individuals from taking part.
The unknown and/or secretive nature of some social groups may also make it difficult to identify strata that warrant investigation. Strata are simply sub-groups within a
population. In the case of drug users, it may be obvious to identify strata such as gender (i.e. male or female), types of drug user (e.g. causal, addict), and so forth, but
others may be unknown to the researcher. Whilst is it typical to define the characteristics of the sample you want to examine at the start of the research process, the
snowball sample may also be helpful in exploring potentially unknown characteristics that are of interest before settling on your sampling criteria.
There may be no other way of accessing your sample, making snowball sampling the only viable choice of sampling strategy
Snowball sampling may also be viewed as an effective sampling strategy from a perspective of research design and the choice of research methods. Whilst the use of
quantitative research designs, surveys methods, and statistical analyses are geared towards the use of probability-based sampling techniques that make it possible to make
statistical inferences from a sample that can be generalized to a population [see Probability sampling], if we were to use such a research design to compare students who
were frequent as opposed to causal drug users, it could actually lead to significant sampling bias. Taking this example, imagine that we were to conduct our survey during
morning lecturers at a university. Whilst stereotypical, we may expect that a larger proportion of these frequent drug users did not show up to the lectures compared to the
causal users. If this were the case, and we would likely not know if it was or not, the sample that took part in the survey could include an over-representation of causal drug
users compared with frequent drug users. This would lead to sampling bias. Whilst it could be said that such as criticism is more about research design than sampling
strategy, the point of this example is to highlight that sometimes a statistically inferior sampling design can result in a more representative sample.

DISADVANTAGES OF SNOWBALL SAMPLING

Community Bias: The first participants will have strong impact on the sample. Snowball sampling is inexact, and can produce varied and inaccurate results. The
method is heavily reliant on the skill of the individual conducting the actual sampling, and that individual's ability to vertically network and find an appropriate
sample. To be successful requires previous contacts within the target areas, and the ability to keep the information flow going throughout the target group..

Not Random: Snowball sampling contravenes many of the assumptions supporting conventional notions of random selection and representativeness. However,
social systems are beyond researchers' ability to recruit randomly. Snowball sampling is inevitable in social systems.

Vague Overall Sampling Size: There is no way to know the total size of the overall population.
Wrong Anchoring: Another disadvantage of snowball sampling is the lack of definite knowledge as to whether or not the sample is an accurate reading of the
target population. By targeting only a few select people, it is not always indicative of the actual trends within the result group. Identifying the appropriate
person to conduct the sampling, as well as locating the correct targets is a time consuming process such that the benefits only slightly outweigh the costs.

Lack of control over the Sampling Method : As the subjects locate the hidden population, the research has very little control over the sampling Method, which
becomes mainly dependent on the original subject. This is because it's a chain sampling in which the original and subsequent subjects add the sampling pool
using a method outside of the researcher's control.