เปรียบเทียบวิธี

	การเลือกตัวอย่างแบบลูกบอลหิมะปรับตัว	Snowball Sampling
สาขาวิชา	ระเบียบวิธีสำรวจ	ระเบียบวิธีสำรวจ
ตระกูล	Process / pipeline	Process / pipeline
ปีกำเนิด	1990s–2000s (as combined approach)	1961
ผู้ริเริ่ม	Combines principles from S. K. Thompson (adaptive sampling, 1990) and L. A. Goodman (snowball sampling, 1961)	Leo A. Goodman
ประเภท	Non-probability / adaptive sampling design	Non-probability sampling technique
แหล่งต้นตำรับ	Thompson, S. K. (1990). Adaptive cluster sampling. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 85(412), 1050–1059.	Goodman, L. A. (1961). Snowball sampling. Annals of Mathematical Statistics, 32(1), 148–170.
ชื่อเรียกอื่น	adaptive referral sampling, adaptive chain-referral sampling, dynamic snowball sampling	chain-referral sampling, network sampling, respondent-driven sampling, referral sampling
ที่เกี่ยวข้อง	4	3
สรุป	Adaptive snowball sampling is a hybrid sampling strategy that recruits initial participants (seeds) from a target population and then dynamically adjusts referral chains based on pre-specified criteria — such as population density, diversity, or theoretical saturation. Combining the chain-referral logic of snowball sampling with the responsive decision rules of adaptive sampling, it is particularly suited to studying rare, hidden, or hard-to-reach populations where conventional frames are unavailable.	Snowball sampling is a non-probability recruitment technique in which initial participants (seeds) refer the researcher to others who meet the study criteria, and those referrals in turn refer further participants. The sample grows incrementally — like a rolling snowball — until the required size or theoretical saturation is reached. It is the method of choice when a target population has no accessible sampling frame, such as undocumented migrants, illicit drug users, survivors of stigmatised experiences, or members of closed professional networks.