Social research 2.0: virtual snowball sampling method using Facebook

The present article is the first that uses Facebook as an instrument to study immigrants and proposes a novel mix of traditional methodologies updated with the use of new virtual possibilities of studying hard to reach populations, especially in areas of social research where the contributions of these methods are less developed.

Abstract

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to present a sampling method using virtual networks to study “hard‐to‐reach” populations. In the ambit of social research, the use of new technologies is still questioned because the selection bias is an obstacle to carry on scientific research on the Internet. In this regard, the authors' hypothesis is that the use of social networking sites (Web 2.0) can be effective for the study of “hard‐to‐reach” populations. The main advantages of this technique are that it can expand the geographical scope and facilitates the identification of individuals with barriers to access. Therefore, the use of virtual networks in non‐probabilistic samples can increase the sample size and its representativeness.