Abstract
This paper views empirical research as a search for illustrations of interesting possibilities which have occurred, and the exploration of the variety of such possibilities in a sample or universe. This leads to a definition of “illustrative inference” (in contrast to statistical inference), which, we argue, is of considerable importance in many fields of inquiry – ranging from market research and qualitative research in social science, to cosmology. Sometimes, it may be helpful to model illustrative inference quantitatively, so that the size of a sample can be linked to its power (for illustrating possibilities): we outline one model based on probability theory, and another based on a resampling technique.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Kolodner, J. (1993). Case-Based Reasoning. San Mateo, California: Morgan Kaufmann.
Konijn, H.S. (1973). Statistical Theory of Sample Survey Design and Analysis. Amsterdam: North-Holland.
Lakatos, I. (1981). Science and pseudo-science. In: S. Brown, J. Fauvel, & R. Finnegan (eds), Conceptions of Inquiry. London: Methuen, pp. 114–121.
Maisel, R. & Persell, C.H. (1996). How Sampling Works. Thousand Oaks, California: Pine Forge Press.
Miles, M.B., & Huberman, A.M. (1994). Qualitative Data Analysis (2nd edn). London: Sage.
Noreen, E.W. (1989). Computer Intensive Methods for Testing Hypotheses. Chichester: Wiley.
Nowack, K.M. (1990, April). Getting them out and getting them back. Training and Development Journal, 82–85.
nQuery Advisor (1995). Cork, Ireland: Statistical Solutions Ltd.
Penn, J. & Christy, R. (1994). Marketing by smaller wine producers and penetration of new distribution channels. International Journal of Wine Marketing 6(3/4): 20–31.
Popper, K.R. (1980). The Logic of Scientific Discovery. London: Hutchinson.
Sprent, P. (1981). Quick Statistics. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Shvyrkov, V.V. (1997). The new statistical thinking. Quality & Quantity 31(2): 155–171.
Simon, J.L. (1992). Resampling: The New Statistics. Arlington, VA: Resampling Stats, Inc.
Smith, T.M.F. (1976). Statistical Sampling for Accountants.London: Accountancy Age Books.
Sykes, W. (1991). Taking stock: issues from the literature on validity and reliability in qualitative research. Journal of the Market Research Society 33(1): 3–12.
Thompson, S.K. (1992). Sampling. New York: Wiley.
Tryfos, P. (1996). Sampling Methods for Applied Research. New York: Wiley.
Wood, M. (1997). The statistical paradigm in the social sciences-and its alternatives. Paper presented at the Conference: Uncertainty, Knowledge and Skill, Hasselt, Belgium.
Wood, M., & Preece, D. (1992). Using quality measures: practice, problems and possibilities. International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management 9(7): 42–53.
Yin, R.K. (1993). Applications of Case Study Research. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wood, M., Christy, R. Sampling for Possibilities. Quality & Quantity 33, 185–202 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026435213337
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026435213337