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Enlisting the Gatekeeper: Chain-Referral and Elite Access in Foreign Policy Analysis

How can ordinary journalistic and academic researchers, young doctoral candidates in particular, get past the gatekeepers and access the exclusive world of elite policy-makers and top executives for purposes of interviewing? This is the question this case study will address. The author found that non-random “snowball sampling” or chain-referral can begin with the gatekeepers, who themselves give access to elite interviewees. In the context of a process tracing study, this is a potent methodology. In short, the key to getting “snowball access” rolling is the interpersonal relationships that the researcher should establish with the first few persons who grant an interview.