SAMPLE-SIZE IN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

A common misconception about sampling in qualitative research is that numbers are unimportant in ensuring the adequacy of a sampling strateg y. Yet, simple sizes may be too small to support claims of having achi eved either informational redundancy or theoretical saturation, or too large to permit the deep, case-oriented analysis that is the raison-d 'etre of qualitative inquiry. Determining adequate sample size in qual itative research is ultimately a matter of judgment and experience in evaluating the quality of the information collected against the uses t o which it will be put, the particular research method and purposeful sampling strategy employed, and the research product intended. (C) 199 5 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.