How Many Interviews Are Enough?: An Experiment with Data Saturation and Variability

Guidelines for determining nonprobabilistic sample sizes are virtually nonexistent.
Purposive samples are the most commonly used form of nonprobabilistic sampling,
and their size typically relies on the concept of “saturation,” or the point at which no
new information or themes are observed in the data. Although the idea of saturation
is helpful at the conceptual level, it provides little practical guidance for estimating
sample sizes, prior to data collection, necessary for conducting quality research.
Using data from a study involving sixty in-depth interviews with women in two West
African countries, the authors systematically document the degree of data saturation
and variability over the course of thematic analysis. They operationalize saturation
and make evidence-based recommendations regarding nonprobabilistic sample
sizes for interviews. Based on the data set, they found that saturation occurred within
the first twelve interviews, although basic elements for metathemes were present as
early as six interviews. Variability within the data followed similar patterns.