2.4 Participants
Naturalistic inquiry emphasizes purposive rather than random sampling.
By purposely selecting a wide range of subjects to observe, including
different cases who are often missed by random sampling or rejected as
"outliers" in quantitative research, the qualitative researcher is more
likely to uncover the full array of "multiple realities" relevant to an
inquiry (Lewin, 1935). A great deal can be
learned by a careful study of the non typical subject. Questions such as
"why does this subject respond differently, and what implications do these
differences have in developing theory?" can be very productive in advancing
scientific understanding (Lawler and Selfridge, 1991).
For these reasons, participants in this research were carefully selected people
associated with advanced educational computing initiatives or courseware
development projects. In each organization, at least one participant was
closely associated with the system hardware and software, while a second
was more closely associated with selected courseware development projects.
Finally, participants who were familiar with both were sought for their
unique perspectives.