Snowball sampling yielded
Research methodology and reporting expression
직역: A ball of snow growing in size through a sampling process produced results
Use this phrase to professionally describe growing a group of contacts through a chain of personal introductions.
15초 만에
- A research method where participants recruit other participants.
- Used to find niche or hard-to-reach groups of people.
- The word 'yielded' means it successfully produced a specific result.
뜻
This phrase describes a research process where you find one person to interview, and then they introduce you to their friends or colleagues. It is like rolling a small snowball down a hill until it gets bigger and bigger by picking up more snow.
주요 예문
3 / 6Presenting a thesis
Our snowball sampling yielded a diverse group of local business owners.
Our chain-referral method produced a diverse group of local business owners.
Market research meeting
The initial snowball sampling yielded fifty high-net-worth investors.
The first round of referrals gave us fifty wealthy investors.
Explaining a hobby project
I started asking around, and eventually, snowball sampling yielded a whole community of retro gamers.
I asked people for referrals, and it led me to a group of retro gamers.
문화적 배경
The term 'snowball effect' has been used in English since the early 20th century to describe something that starts small and builds momentum. In research, this specific methodology gained prominence in the 1940s and 50s as a way to study social networks and 'invisible' populations that wouldn't respond to traditional mail-in surveys.
The 'Yield' Secret
In English, 'yield' isn't just for research. It's also used in farming (crop yield) and finance (investment yield). It always implies that you put in work and got something valuable back.
Don't Overuse in Conversation
If you use this phrase while talking about your weekend plans, you'll sound like you're writing a textbook. Stick to 'one person led to another' for daily life.
15초 만에
- A research method where participants recruit other participants.
- Used to find niche or hard-to-reach groups of people.
- The word 'yielded' means it successfully produced a specific result.
What It Means
Imagine you are looking for people who collect vintage stamps. You find one collector. They introduce you to three more. Those three introduce you to ten others. This is snowball sampling. The word yielded is just a fancy way to say 'produced' or 'gave us.' Together, it means your chain of introductions successfully found the people you needed for your study.
How To Use It
You use this when explaining how you found your participants. It usually starts a sentence in a report or presentation. You follow it with the results, like snowball sampling yielded twenty participants. It sounds very professional and organized. It shows you used a specific strategy rather than just guessing.
When To Use It
Use this in academic papers or business market research. It is perfect for talking about 'hidden' groups of people. If you are interviewing CEOs or underground artists, this is your go-to phrase. It works well in a meeting when a boss asks, 'How did you find these people?'
When NOT To Use It
Do not use this at a casual party. If you say, 'Meeting you yielded a great conversation,' you will sound like a robot. Avoid it if you found people through a random public ad. That is not a snowball! Also, do not use it if your 'snowball' only stayed one person small.
Cultural Background
This comes from the world of sociology and statistics. It became popular because some groups are hard to reach. In Western research culture, it is a respected way to study 'niche' communities. It relies on the 'six degrees of separation' idea. It assumes people with similar interests usually know each other.
Common Variations
You might hear the snowball method or chain-referral sampling. Sometimes people say the study utilized snowball sampling. If the process is still happening, you could say we are currently snowballing the sample. However, yielded is the most common way to report the final result.
사용 참고사항
This is a high-level academic and professional expression. It belongs in the 'Methodology' or 'Results' section of a paper or a formal business presentation.
The 'Yield' Secret
In English, 'yield' isn't just for research. It's also used in farming (crop yield) and finance (investment yield). It always implies that you put in work and got something valuable back.
Don't Overuse in Conversation
If you use this phrase while talking about your weekend plans, you'll sound like you're writing a textbook. Stick to 'one person led to another' for daily life.
The Trust Factor
Snowball sampling is culturally significant because it relies on 'social capital.' It's a fancy way of saying that in many cultures, people only talk to outsiders if a friend says it's okay.
예시
6Our snowball sampling yielded a diverse group of local business owners.
Our chain-referral method produced a diverse group of local business owners.
Standard academic usage to explain the data collection phase.
The initial snowball sampling yielded fifty high-net-worth investors.
The first round of referrals gave us fifty wealthy investors.
Shows the effectiveness of the networking strategy in a business context.
I started asking around, and eventually, snowball sampling yielded a whole community of retro gamers.
I asked people for referrals, and it led me to a group of retro gamers.
Slightly more relaxed but still uses the technical term for clarity.
The snowball sampling yielded 10 more names today! We're on a roll.
The referral method gave us 10 more names today!
Informal use of a formal term between colleagues.
I asked one person about the office birthday cake, and snowball sampling yielded the entire history of HR complaints.
Asking one person led to a chain of people telling me office secrets.
Using a formal research term to describe office gossip.
Because the group is so private, snowball sampling yielded the only reliable data we have.
Since they are private, the referral method was our only way to get data.
Emphasizes the necessity of the method for difficult subjects.
셀프 테스트
Choose the correct word to complete the reporting of the research results.
The team's ___ sampling yielded a total of thirty-five expert interviews.
Snowball sampling is the standard term for a chain-referral methodology.
Select the most professional verb to describe the results of the sampling.
Snowball sampling ___ a significant amount of qualitative data.
'Yielded' is the formal academic term for producing or providing a result.
🎉 점수: /2
시각 학습 자료
Formality of 'Snowball sampling yielded'
I asked my friends to ask their friends.
My friends helped me find people.
Using referrals to find a group.
The referral process worked well.
Standard academic and professional reporting.
Snowball sampling yielded twenty participants.
Where to use 'Snowball sampling yielded'
University Thesis
Explaining your methodology in Chapter 3.
Corporate Strategy
Reporting on a niche customer segment.
Medical Study
Finding patients with a rare condition.
Journalism
Tracking down sources for a deep-dive story.
자주 묻는 질문
10 질문It is a research method where existing participants recruit future participants from among their acquaintances. It is used when the desired sample is hard to find through traditional means.
In this context, yielded means 'produced' or 'resulted in.' It is a formal way to say that your efforts gave you a specific number of participants or data points.
Yes, especially in market research. If a company wants to talk to 'early adopters' of a new technology, they might use snowball sampling to find them.
It is better to avoid it unless you are emailing a colleague about work. In a casual email, you would say I found more people through referrals.
Sometimes. In research, snowballing is the verb for the process, but be careful—in slang, 'snowballing' can have very different, non-academic meanings.
Because a snowball gets larger as it rolls down a hill, just as your list of participants grows as each person adds their friends to the group.
A common mistake is using it for random samples. If you just stopped people on the street, that is not snowball sampling.
Use yielded (past tense) when you are reporting results that have already happened. Use yields (present tense) if you are describing how the method works in general.
Yes, but yielded is much more professional. In a formal report, yielded is the preferred choice.
Usually, yes. It refers to people referring other people. However, it can sometimes apply to documents or citations (one paper leading you to another).
관련 표현
Chain-referral sampling
The technical synonym for snowball sampling.
Word-of-mouth recruitment
A less formal way to describe finding people through talking.
Convenience sampling
Finding participants who are easy to reach (not necessarily through referrals).
Network sampling
A similar method focusing on the connections within a social network.
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