Even though the contents of the paper by Mackey et al. included some information about semi-structured interviews and qualitative research, the researchers did not describe the study design, which led to confusion while reading the article. The study did not provide any explanation about the factors influencing the eligibility of interviewees. Mackey et al. mentioned that patients with self-inflicted burns were subject to exclusion, but the reasons for that decision were not explained. In terms of sampling methods, the researchers explained that all the respondents were purposively selected to ensure diversity of experience among the study population.
Despite that, racial and socioeconomic diversity did not affect the selection process. In order for the study to be more credible and seem trustworthy, the researchers had to explain the criteria for participants and incorporate the concepts of diversity into the selection process. They also had to ensure that their framework for recruitment would be adaptive in order to avoid unconscious bias and homogeneity.
The data used by Draucker et al. originated from a parent project, which was an ongoing qualitative study entitled “Adolescent dating violence: Development of a theoretical framework.” The researchers identified their “Aggressive events in adolescent dating violence” study as a cross-case analysis, an alternative to constant comparison analysis. Draucker et al. also describe the sampling, recruitment, and data collection methods. The scientists attributed their decision to include people between the ages of 18 and 21 to several key factors. Firstly, they preferred young adults to reflect on their experiences as adolescents because of the mandatory parental consent that restricted an adolescent sample. Secondly, it seemed unreasonable to include people much older than 18 because the researchers wanted to interview individuals whose memories of dating violence were fresh and detailed. As for the sampling method, Draucker et al. emphasized the importance of adaptive sampling in order to ensure the diversity of the study population.