A dog owner asks other dog owners to participate, who then refer additional dog owners to a researcher conducting a survey on dog food brands. What nonprobability sampling technique is described?

• A. Snowball sampling
• B. Convenience sampling
• C. Quota sampling
• D. Purposive sampling

Answer: (A)

This item tests how participants recruit others through a referral process. Snowball sampling happens when current participants refer additional participants from their social networks, causing the sample to grow like a snowball. It’s a nonprobability method because there’s no random selection; who joins depends on who the initial participants know and recruit. In this scenario, a dog owner asks other dog owners to participate, and those owners refer more dog owners to the researcher, which perfectly fits snowball sampling.

For contrast, convenience sampling would involve selecting participants simply because they are easy to reach, not through referrals. Purposive sampling selects specific individuals by the researcher’s judgment, not through a chain of referrals. Quota sampling aims to fill predefined subgroups, which isn’t described here.