Journal Articles

Conlon, C., Timonen, V., Elliott-O’Dare, C., O’Keeffe, S., & Foley, G. (2020). Confused about theoretical sampling? Engaging theoretical sampling in diverse grounded theory studies. Qualitative Health Research, 30(6), 947–959. doi:10.1177/1049732319899139

Conlon et al have written an excellent methodological paper presenting theoretical sampling as a critical methodological strategy when developing theory. They illustrate and explain theoretical sampling not only as a basis for choosing new cases to interview, but also as a strategy for designing new questions to ask in planned interviews, and for chasing new leads within existing data – all with the purpose of filling out the dimensions of concepts and the components of emergent theory. They also explain the role of inductive, abductive, and retroductive analysis in working with theoretically sampled data. As they do, they also deepen a reader’s understanding of the process of developing theory from data.

See also Chapter 8: Wicks (2010), on axial coding.