The typical answer to questions about sample size in qualitative research is to collect data until saturation occurs, so that new data collection no longer adds anything to what you have already heard. This makes sense when doing interviews or field work, but it harder to implement when you are collecting visual data, because you don't have the same depth of contact with what is in the data as you do in interviews or field work.

If possible, I would recommend that you code your data as you go, so that you determine when you have reached the point of saturation.

What is the question of interest? are the children typically developing? Are you interested in learning about the impact of parenting or environment? will they all be right handed? Will they all be matched on parent SES? the qualitative study of data that is abstract with no gold standard in children (unless you can give the info to hep me identify a previous study, like looking at IBIS research from UNC) is hard

Hi David and Rachel, thank you for your answers.

Rachel, to provide some context — the question is about children’s experiences of living through the Covid-19 pandemic, as depicted by themselves using drawings. The drawings were made in response to a call from a museum for a collection they wanted to ‘create’, and the drawings were mainly made in the school setting. We have about 1.100 drawings total, but we’re only going to analyse those from a particular age range/developmental stage (thinking early adolescence, 10-12 or middle adolescence, 13-16). Within that, we expect there to be about 200/300 drawings, and since it does not seem we will have the time to analyse them all, I am trying to find out if there’s any information out there on how to (validly) choose a sample from this smaller total. We do not have information on handedness, or parent SES. We have information on the age, school year, and where they went to school.

Let me know if you have any thoughts, or require anymore information. Thank you for your help!