The Need for Interview Participant Justification: Report-ability in Qualitative Research

Persistent concerns are still raised about an appropriate guideline for determining the number of interview participants within organisational studies. Across studies, there is that continuing debate about the guideline principles for justifying participant numbers in qualitative research. This paper moves beyond these debates to present practical guidelines for reporting interview samples sizes and the need for variability. By elaborating on previous perspectives on participant inquiries, justifications which are congruent in ensuring the validity of given qualitative sampling are revealed. The authors draw on empirical data from 52 in-depth interviews across traders from three main African cultural blocs to operationalise commitment justifications regarding non-probabilistic sample sizes for qualitative interviews. Acknowledging findings from the data set, we proceed to make specification principles for reporting variability and participant numbers.