Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of at least 2 different sampling methods. Describe how researchers go about selecting a sampling strategy. What role does the research question play in choosing the sample? What does it mean to have a representative sample and why is this vital to the outcome of the study? You may wish to incorporate some of the scholarly sources you have been reviewing for your research project within your discussion.

Folks-Here we'll be addressing different sampling methods; there are advantages and disadvantages to each, and the selection of which to choose will largely depend on these, and the nature of the research question you're working with. For instance, if we're working with a more applied topic like a survey, we would place higher priority on having a representative sample of the population; on the other hand, if we're working with a more theoretical question, like what variables can raise or lower self-esteem, then a convenience sample might be more appropriate. The results may or may not generalize to other populations, but subsequent research studies could further investigate this. That is, we often want to know about the *external validity*, or generalizability of findings..... Here

http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/external.php

is one handy summary of the effect, along with descriptions of some common threats to external validity and also advice on how it could be improved.... *However*, just remember that not all studies have this as a priority. Some research has as its primary goal to demonstrate the *existence* of some effect---to take another example, suppose we want to know if a particular mnemonic device could improve academic performance. The nature of the sample may not be critical in first tests and demonstrations. Subsequent research could investigate its applicability to other populations, and here is where external validity is more carefully scrutinized...

Hope this helps, and I do encourage folks to draw from the scholarly sources you've already found for your project to help contextualize this discussion...