A sample is a set of participants selected in some way from a population, and a population consists of individuals, which could be persons, events, cabbages, nuts, patients, hospitals etc.
or anything at all of research interest (Sapsford & Jupp, 2006). Likewise, Maree (2007) states that sampling refers to the process used to select a portion of the population for the study.
Similarly, McMillan and Schumacher (2010) assert that sampling is the selection of group of participants from who the data are collected. In purposive sampling, often but no by means exclusively a feature of qualitative research, the researchers hand-pick the cases to be included in the sample on the bases of their judgement of their typicality or possession of certain traits being sought (Cohen, Manion & Morrison, 2011). Daniel (2012) corroborates the foregoing assertion and states that sampling is the selection of a subset of a population for inclusion in the study. Qualitative research usually involves smaller samples and is flexible and often continues until no new themes emerge from the data generation process (Maree, 2007). In this study, township school principals and post level one educators constituted the research participants. Principals were chosen because they represent the top management of the school hence they were thought of as having full knowledge of the functioning of lower levels of management. Post level one educators on the other hand were chosen because their role is mainly classroom based and they have a different view in analysing the performance of leaders mainly the principal. Moreover, they as well need to be ethical in their behaviour as learners look up to them as role models. Worth noting that township schools were my best choice because my observations were in the township and I worked in a township school.
Kumar (2011) identifies three types of sampling, which are random or probability sampling, non-probability/random sampling, and mixed sampling. Creswell ((2007) and McMillan (2010)
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mention numerous typologies of sampling strategies in qualitative inquiry. Among those are:
maximum variation, homogeneous, critical cases, theory based, confirming and disconfirming cases, snowball or chain, extreme or deviant case, typical case, unique case, reputational case, intense case, political importance, random purposeful or combination of purposeful sampling strategies, stratified purposeful, criterion, opportunistic, combination or mixed, and convenience sampling. Purposive sampling has been adopted for this research study. Creswell (2007) states that the concept of purposive sampling is widely used in qualitative research. The researcher selects the individuals and sites for the study because they can purposefully inform an understanding of the research problem and the central phenomenon in the study. McMillan and Schumacher (2010) maintain that researchers choose various sampling strategies as needed or desired for research purposes. Kumar (2011) contends that, as the main aim in qualitative research is to explore diversity, sample size and sampling strategy do not play important role in the selection of a sample.
Meanwhile, Kumar (2011) maintains that all non-probability sampling strategies, which are purposive, judgemental, expert, accidental, and snowball, can also be used in qualitative research. Purposive sampling is favoured for this study because, according to McMillan and Schumacher (2010), in this type of sampling, the researcher selects particular elements from the population that will be representative or informative about the topic of interest. In my study, four township school principals had been selected to provide their experiences in enacting ethical leadership in with multiple challenges contexts. The views and the perceptions of both Post level 1 educators and school principals were heard. Creswell (2012) asserts that the standard used in choosing the participants and sites is ‘where they are’, in other words is dependent on where the participants are situated. De Vos, Strydom, Fouché, and Delport (2011) assert that in purposive sampling, a case is chosen because it illustrates some features or process that is of interest for a particular study. Furthermore, in purposive sampling, the researcher must first think critically about the parameters or factors of the population and then choose the sample accordingly.
Cohen, Manion and Morrison (2011) posit that a purposive sample is chosen for a specific purpose. Creswell (2012) and Daniel (2012) also point out that the term used in qualitative research for qualitative sampling is purposeful sampling. He further argues that, in purposive sampling, the researcher intentionally selects individuals and sites to learn or understand the central phenomenon. In addition, De Vos (2011) argues that, in the case of purposive sampling,
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the researcher purposefully seeks typical and divergent data. De Vos (2011) claims that the research needs to be guided by processes that will provide rich detail to maximise the range of specific information that can be obtained from and about the context. Cohen, Manion and Morrison (2011) argue that purposive sampling is used in order to access knowledgeable people, in a nutshell, to have those people who have an in-depth knowledge about a particular issue, maybe by virtue of their professional role. As a case in point, this research study has purposefully identified school principals as participants, due to their professional expertise.
Consistent with the foregoing assertions, Daniel (2012) posits that, in purposive sampling, participants are not selected simply on the basis of their availability, convenience, or self- selection. Instead, the researcher purposely selects the participants because they satisfy specific inclusion and exclusion criteria for participation in the study. In this study, purposely, principals in multiple challenging contexts that engulf them were selected on the basis of having first- hand working experiences in such conditions.
A purposive sampling method is based on the judgement of the researcher regarding the traits of the representative sample. Most importantly a sample is chosen on the bases that the researcher considers to be typical of the units being studied. The strategy that is used is to select the units are viewed or seen to be the most common in the population under the investigation.
Furthermore, the purposive sampling technique often leads to non-representative sampling (Bless & Higson-Smith, 2000).
Purposive sampling was chosen due to its targeting of specific participants; it was more appropriate, and also selection bias was less in purposive sampling since the selection of the participants was not based on availability. This latter assertion justified the significance of selecting school principals as participants, since I intended to find out more about the practices of principals of schools. Furthermore, using purposive sampling strengthened the internal validity of the study. Daniel (2012) posits that, through employing homogeneous sampling, the internal validity of purposive sampling tends to be higher than the internal validity of availability sampling. Case study was preferred as the methodological approach, on the basis of its strength in producing the most relevant and specific data to the phenomenon being studied. In this approach, sampling is aimed at providing insight about the phenomenon, not empirical generalisation from the sample to a population (Patton, 2002). Most interestingly, with regards to the sample size, Bless and Higson-Smith (2000) assert that a vital issue in sampling is to determine the most adequate size of the sample. This is on the grounds that, the
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larger the sample, the more are the chances of it to be representative of the population, but it becomes more expensive. Contrary, a small sample is much less accurate but more convenient.
Moreover, qualitative inquiry typically focuses in-depth on relatively small samples, even single cases selected purposefully. Information-rich cases are those from which a researcher can learn a great deal about issues of main significance to the purpose of the inquiry, thus the term purposeful sampling (Patton, 2002).
Moreover, Patton (2002) asserts that there are no rules that specify the sample size in qualitative inquiry. Instead, the sample size relies on what the researcher wishes to know, the purpose of the research, what is at stake, what will be useful, what will have credibility, and what can be done with the available time and resources (Patton, 2002). Bless and Higson-Smith (2000) argue that the primary criterion employed in choosing a sample size is the extent to which the sample is representative of the population. The township school principals and PL 1 educators were chosen on the basis of the positive image their schools were known for, despite the township contexts that have a myriad of challenges. On the grounds of the foregoing assertions, purposeful sampling is deemed an appropriate sampling method for this research project.