Elements Of Survey Sampling

Modern statistics consists of methods which help in drawing inferences about the population under consideration. These populations may actually exist, or could be generated by repeated· experimentation. The medium of drawing inferences about the population is the sample, which is a subset of measurements selected from the population. Each measurement in the sample is used for making inferences about the population. The populations and also the methods of sample selection differ from one field of science to the other. Social scientists use surveys tocollectthe sample information, whereas the physical scientists employ the method of experimentation for obtaining this information. This is because in social sciences the factors that cause variation in the measurements on the study variable for the population units can not be controlled, whereas in physical sciences these factors can be controlled, at least to some extent, through proper experimental design. Several excellent books on sampling theory are available in the market. These books discuss the theory of sample surveys in great depth and detail, and are suited to the postgraduate students majoring in statistics. Research workers in the field of sampling methodology can also make use of these books. However, not many suitable books are available, which can be used by the students and researchers in the fields of economics, social sciences, extension education, agriculture, medical sciences, business management, etc. These students and workers usually conduct sample surveys during their research projects.

Reviews sampling methods used in surveys: simple random sampling, systematic sampling, stratification, cluster and multi-stage sampling, sampling with probability proportional to size, two-phase sampling, replicated sampling, panel designs, and non-probability sampling. Kalton discusses issues of practical implementation, including frame problems and non-response, and gives examples of sample designs for a national face-to-face interview survey and for a telephone survey. He also treats the use of weights in survey analysis, the computation of sampling errors with complex sampling designs, and the determination of sample size.

Fundamentals of survey sampling; Special problems and techniques; Related concepts.

An introduction to the essentially mathematical principles of survey sampling as they are applied in practice. Intended for survey sampling theorists and practitioners, as a guide for those who may have to design and conduct a survey, and for those commissioning, organizing, and overseeing survey op

Accompanying computer disk contains ... "all large data sets from the examples and exercises, as well as the eight real data sets explained in the appendix and referred to in many of the Experiences with Real Data sections."--Page iv.

In this first book of the series Survey Methods in Educational Research, we have brought together leading authors and scholars in the field to discuss key introductory concepts in the creation, implementation, evaluation and dissemination of survey instruments and their resultant findings. While there are other textbooks that might introduce these concepts adequately well, the authors here have focused on the pragmatic issues that inevitably arise in the development and administration process of survey instruments. Drawing from their rich experiences, the authors present these potential speed bumps or road blocks a survey researcher in education or the social sciences might encounter. Referencing their own work and practice, the authors provide valuable suggestions for dealing with these issues “your advisor never told you about.” And all of the recommendations are aligned with standard protocols and current research on best practices in the field of research methodology. This book is broken into four broad units on creating survey items and instruments, administering surveys, analyzing the data from surveys, and stories of successful administrations modeling the entire research cycle. Each chapter focuses on a different concept in the survey research process, and the authors share their approaches to addressing the issues. These topics include survey item construction, scale development, cognitive interviewing, measuring change with self-report data, translation issues with surveys administered in multiple languages, working with school and program administrators when implementing surveys, a review of current software used in survey research, the use of weights, response styles, assessing validity of results, and effectively communicating your results and findings … and much more. The intended audience of the volume will be practitioners, administrators, teachers as researchers, graduate students, social science and education researchers not experienced in survey research, and students learning program evaluation. In brief, if you are considering doing survey research, this book is meant for you.

How the samples are allocated to strata or to clusters? Which is the best sampling method? How large a sample size should be? Will the sample provide the precision that we require? How the best results can be obtained at the lower cost? How to design and analyze different forms of sample surveys? The author focusses on using sampling techniques and ideas to solve real problems. This text includes different sampling methods and different sample allocation plans to create the powerful, cost effective survey sample design for your study. It covers a wide range of sampling methods simple random sampling, stratified sampling and cluster sampling. The book also describes the mathematics involved behind the confidence limits, ratio estimation, sample size and survey precision. Small area estimation, randomized response, network, adaptive sampling, control sampling and permanent random numbers are also discussed in addition to most of the classical topics.