ABSTRACT
Data is an integral aspect of the research process. Most communication scholarship comes from one of four kinds of data: texts, observations and/or interviews, self-reports and/or other-reports. Snowball sampling is particularly relevant to interview data and is similar to convenience sampling. Snowballing can occur when the researcher meets with the first interviewee and the interviewee suggests a second participant. Purposive sampling focuses the study on specific groups at the exclusion of other groups. Simple-random sampling is a procedure in which every case in a population has an equal chance of being included in the sample. Social scientists will use all the levels of variables. Interpretive and critical scholars will rarely use interval- and/or ratio-level variables, as these variables lend themselves to higher-level statistical analysis and thus to things like generalization.
