From Sample to Population Generalization in Qualitative Research

Abstract

The split of methodology into qualitative and quantitative had all sorts of negative consequences, including the neglecting of some important scientific goals, such as generalizing research results in qualitative studies. Even if they don’t talk about generalizations, many qualitative researchers illegitimately extend their research results to populations much wider than those investigated. The article shows that the generalization of research results (from sample to population) is possible in qualitative research but that it can only be achieved through a sampling procedure that complies with specific rules. The article describes this procedure of internal generalization of results through a logical or scientific inference process. It is a theoretical sampling process in four steps that does not place emphasis on the size of the sample, but on the criteria for choosing the participants and seeks to obtain the generalization of findings following data variations. The procedure offers some advantages such as the transparency of the sampling process, provocative novelties such as the possibility to adjust the research population during the research but has also significant limitations such as the effects generated by the difficulty of anticipating the complexity of the studied phenomena.