Comparison of Convenience Sampling and Purposive Sampling

TLDR

Convenience and purposive sampling are nonprobability methods used when randomization is impossible, resources are limited, or generalization is not the goal, though they suffer from subjectivity and limited representativeness. This study compares convenience sampling and purposive sampling to determine which technique is more suitable. The authors reviewed existing literature to evaluate and contrast the two sampling methods. The choice between convenience and purposive sampling depends on the research’s nature and objectives.

Abstract

This article studied and compared the two nonprobability sampling techniques namely, Convenience Sampling and Purposive Sampling. Convenience Sampling and Purposive Sampling are Nonprobability Sampling Techniques that a researcher uses to choose a sample of subjects/units from a population. Although, Nonprobability sampling has a lot of limitations due to the subjective nature in choosing the sample and thus it is not good representative of the population, but it is useful especially when randomization is impossible like when the population is very large. It can be useful when the researcher has limited resources, time and workforce. It can also be used when the research does not aim to generate results that will be used to create generalizations pertaining to the entire population. Therefore, there is a need to use nonprobability sampling techniques. The aim of this study is to compare among the two nonrandom sampling techniques in order to know whether one technique is better or useful than the other. Different articles were reviewed to compare between Convenience Sampling and Purposive Sampling and it is concluded that the choice of the techniques (Convenience Sampling and Purposive Sampling) depends on the nature and type of the research.