Abstract
The issue of selecting samples, selecting speakers or respondents of linguistic surveys, is very important in sociolinguistic research. This paper discusses the problems and significance of purposive (non-probability) sampling method, which is most often used in Japanese language surveys, mainly in comparison with random sampling. Data collected with use of purposive sampling do not represent the whole target population statistically, but it is meaningful and valuable as a case study, especially in the study of dialectology where random sampling does not apply. In addition to sampling procedures, the issues of personal information protection policy, rapid increase of foreign residents, ethnicity and gender reflected in language use also need to be considered in methodology of linguistic surveys.
