Our research adopts a mixed-method approach by drawing upon both quantitative and qualitative data. First, we conducted an on-site survey on September 30, 2019 during a legally authorized sit-in protest attended by secondary school students in the Central District. This protest was one of the many protests that occurred during the Anti-ELAB Movement, but it was one of the few protests that were organized by and for secondary school students. This allowed the research team to ask specific questions about campus activism, which would not be possible in larger protests involving older participants. When designing the questionnaire, we were soundly aware that our subjects were minors under 18 years old. However, since it was not practical to seek consent from their parents during the protests, we sought to protect respondents by not using any questions that were overly sensitive or might have legal implications. We did not ask for personal information that could be traceable to them. Respondents could also terminate the survey anytime.

Since it was a relatively small-scale protest with a turnout of around 1000, the research team distributed leaflets containing a QR code to every two to three participants whom the survey helper encountered, through which they could complete the survey.4 In the end, we collected 229 effective responses, with a response rate of 76%. Although the sample size is relatively small, we find that sample is satisfactorily representative given that the student respondents were coming from schools of all 18 districts of Hong Kong. There is only overrepresentation for two districts on Hong Kong Island and underrepresentation for three districts in the New Territories, which makes sense because the protest took place on Hong Kong Island. Ideally, we could have surveyed the other few student protests. However, due to resource constraint and the spontaneity of these protests, we were able to survey only the September 30 one. This survey, despite its limitations, allows us to examine the broader pattern of student participation and campus activism during the protests.

what is the sampling of this article?

simple random sampling?

systematic sampling?

stratified sampling?

multistage cluster sampling?

purposive sampling ?

thank you