Hello Steve,

Yes, it can be challenging to solicit a sufficient number of participants to furnish the kind of information you seek, especially for a mixed methods study.

To your questions:

1. I would not combine the two samples. The chief reason is that the solicitation and screening criteria for the 2009 sample might have been quite different from what you are using to collect data in 2022. Also, the passage of time alone might result in some qualitative differences. Finally, the method of eliciting the responses may be different. You may compare the two batches, if that is germane to your research aims.

2. Yes, purposive sampling is very common for qualitative inquiry. Just be clear about your selection criterion/criteria and invitation process.

Good luck with your work.

In Prof Morse answer above add ordinary statistical methods don't really work..

Best wishes David Booth

@Heather, Thank you but then what is the point of wasting your time if you don't know if your research conclusions are likely true or not. Best wishes David Booth

Further Heather, there are only how questions only God knows about why. David Booth

I would agree with @David Morse with respect to what he said on the merging of the two samples. There will be differences in the mindset and approaches in terms of samples taken in the years 2009 and 2022. Therefore it would not be apt to add this as a limitation of your study. You can do a comparative analysis of those two samples from 2009 and 2022 and see the changes in terms of your variable.

@Hteather. What I do is of no interest to science

We try to learn general principles of nature, ie what happens when a certain thing occurs. A principle that is true for a cancer patient may not be true for noncancer patients. Thus I can discuss how for each patient. But I can never know why one is sick and one is not. I can only know perhaps how each got that way. Best wishes, David Booth

Thank you for the question and the answers are very useful.