The Inconvenient Truth About Convenience Samples

Dr. Tara Behrend recently co-authored a focal article with Dr. Richard Landers for an upcoming issue of Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice (IOP).  In their article they discuss the use of convenience samples commonly used in I-O psychology research (e.g. college student pools, Internet panels, and organizational samples) and the implications for external validity. In addition to providing a historical treatment on external validity, overviews of different types of convenience samples, and important statistical considerations,  they also give recommendations for when to use different kinds of convenience samples.

The format for IOP features a focal article-peer commentary format where each focal article takes a position on an important issue in the field of I-O psychology and summarizes evidence for that particular stance, along with the implications for science, practice, and public policy. Peer commentaries that challenge or critique the article, expand on it, or discuss additional implications, are then submitted to the IOP editor to be chosen to be published along with the focal article in each issue.