I want to sample virtual community members in a city for an academic research in travel behaviour. What sampling technique works? I want to use a questionnaire and a travel diary to collect data. Are there experiences I can learn from? Thanks
Since there is no universal global list of the community members, the use of a random sampling approach to sampling from a list of all the virtual communities is impossible. Thus, use a convenience sampling method. However, there is a need to develop a criterion to ensure an active member of the community is included in the sample. There is a need to establish member stability and traffic volume. The inclusion and exclusion criteria will eliminate the inactive communities, particularly in a community where the communication is through announcements and new postings.
For instance, a snowball approach can be used to identify the respondents based on the objective of the study that intended to study an active virtual community member from a particular geographical area participating in an online discussion.
Hey Toyin,
I think you can also check this RG link:
https://www.researchgate.net/post/what_sampling_method_are_best_to_use_for_online_communities_population
Regards,
Danial
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