A Protocol for Identifying and Sampling From Proxy Populations. (19th August 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lu, Tao; Franklin, Aimee L.
• Is Part Of: Social science quarterly. Volume 99:Number 4(2018)
• Page Start: 1535
• Page End: 1546
• Publication Date: 2018-08-19
• Subjects: Political science -- Periodicals; Social sciences -- Periodicals; 300
• DOI: 10.1111/ssqu.12519
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0038-4941

Abstract

Abstract : Objectives: Increasingly it is more and more difficult for researchers to garner a robust response rate from their target population. In response, they often turn to more accessible proxy populations. However, guidance on how to identify and select a proxy population that reasonably mimics the target population is neither expansive nor systematic. Our objective is to fill this gap by offering a standardized protocol for selecting appropriate population. We introduce a proxy selection protocol that combines convenience with purposive nonprobability sampling. Methods: The protocol introduces a method following a step‐by‐step process to evaluate the suitability of a different potential proxy populations as a reasonable representation of the target population. Results and Conclusion: We come to an conclusion that this proxy selection protocol can overcome low response rates and avoid contamination of a limited target population when conducting exploratory or early‐stage explanatory research of potential causal relationships.