This is a form of convenience sampling when current participants give referrals for additional participants. Typically, snowball sampling is only used when conducting specialty studies of hard-to-reach populations. For example, a market researcher doing online focus groups with people who enjoy heli snowboarding may have trouble finding qualified participants. As they recruit qualified participants, they may ask them to refer friends who also enjoy the sport (since people who engage in unusual activities often know others who do so).
« Back to Glossary Index
