Understanding Pension Decisions: Recruiting and Sampling Participants in Private Sector Organizations

This case study is based on research conducted at the University of Manchester which considers how individuals make financial decisions following the introduction of automatic enrollment into workplace pensions in the United Kingdom from 2012. This research used qualitative research based on interviews with employees who had gone through auto-enrolment to investigate the various social and cultural factors that influenced pension decision-making. Employees were recruited through two private-sector organizations. This case study aims to illustrate some of the challenges faced regarding recruiting and sampling participants for qualitative research when working with private-sector organizations, which has not been dealt with in detail by qualitative sociological literature. The case study also seeks to reflect on the use of theoretical or purposive sampling, a method which combines the aims of theoretical and purposive sampling in an interpretive and inductive manner.