Sampling: Bridging probability and non-probability designs

This article reconceptualises sampling in social research. It is argued that three inter-related a priori assumptions limit on the possibility of sample design, namely: a) the ontology of the case, b) the epistemological assumptions underpinning what properties are necessary to know the case, and c) the logistics involved in the process of as ‘casing' the case. In considering sampling in this way, not only are key criteria commonly used to gauge the validity of sample problematized, but a genuine epistemological bridge between probability and non-probability sample designs is also forged.