purposive sampling

a sampling method that focuses on very specific characteristics of the units or individuals chosen. For example, a researcher investigating a specific type of amnesia may select for study only those individuals who have specific lesions in their brains. Although the final subset of cases is extreme and not random, valuable information nonetheless may be obtained from their study. See nonprobability sampling.

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Psychology term of the day

February 25th 2025

inner estrangement

the feeling that external objects are unfamiliar and unreal. [defined by Austrian psychoanalyst Paul Federn (1871–1950)]