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ABSTRACT
Informed decisions about sampling are critical to improving the quality of research synthesis. Even though several qualitative research synthesists have recommended purposeful sampling for synthesizing qualitative research, the published literature holds sparse discussion on how different strategies for purposeful sampling may be applied to a research synthesis. In primary research, Patton is frequently cited as an authority on the topic of purposeful sampling. In Patton's original texts that are referred to in this article, Patton does not make any suggestion of using purposeful sampling for research synthesis. This article makes a unique contribution to the literature by examining the adaptability of each of Patton's 16 purposeful sampling strategies to the process of qualitative research synthesis. It illuminates how different purposeful sampling strategies might be particularly suited to constructing multi-perspectival, emancipatory, participatory and deconstructive interpretations of published research.
Keywords: Purposeful sampling, qualitative research synthesis, meta-synthesis, meta-study, qualitative meta-analysis.
Research synthesis is a special type of research review that is not only descriptive, informative and evaluative, but also connective (Mays, Pope, and Popay, 2005). 'Synthesis refers to making a whole into something more than the parts alone imply' (Noblit & Hare, 1988, p. 28). The purpose of research synthesis is to produce new knowledge by making explicit connections and tensions between individual study reports that were not visible before. It involves purposeful selection, review, analysis and synthesis of primary research reports on a similar topic. In a rigorous synthesis, readers are provided with sufficient information about the synthesis process so that they can make informed decisions about the extent to which the synthesized findings may be adapted to their own contexts.
With the growth of research activity in recent years, each topic tends to be examined by different researchers in diverse contexts, employing a wide range of methods, invariably resulting in disparate findings on the same topic. Making useable sense of such complex bodies of research can be an overwhelming experience for most stakeholders. These stakeholders include policymakers, administrators, educators, health professionals, funding agencies, researchers, students, patients, various advocacy groups and the wider community. Research syntheses can play an important role in disseminating research knowledge and in shaping further research, practice and public perception. Hence, issues of ethical representations (Suri, 2008) and methodological rigour...