A researcher posts a link to an online survey on her Facebook timeline and asks her Facebook friends to complete it. What nonprobability sampling technique is this?

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

Answer: (B)

Convenience sampling is being used here. The researcher is selecting participants simply because they are easy to access—her Facebook friends who see the post and choose to complete the survey. This approach doesn’t involve a random or carefully planned selection process to ensure representativeness. It relies on readily available individuals, which is the hallmark of convenience sampling. Other nonprobability methods would involve different targeting or referral patterns—purposive would pick people with specific characteristics, snowball would rely on participants recruiting others, and quota would aim to fill predetermined subgroups—none of which is at play in this scenario.