Search

"We provide and illustrate methods for evaluating across-the-board ratio estimation and synthetic estimation, two techniques that might be used for improving population estimates for small areas. The methods emphasize determination of a break-even accuracy of knowledge concerning externally obtained population totals, which marks the point at which improvement occurs." The techniques are illustrated using 1980 U.S. census data.

It is common practice in large recurring surveys to employ rotation sampling schemes. Composite estimators are often used in association with rotation schemes to reduce the variability of the survey estimators. In this article, expressions for the variances of certain composite estimators are derived. It is demonstrated how the variance expressions may be used in planning panel surveys and in certain time series analyses. This work is illustrated by the Census Bureau's Retail Trade Survey.

This article provides to the survey practitioner some guidance about the problem of variance estimation for equal probability single-start systematic samples. An investigation of eight alternative estimators of the variance of the sample mean is presented. In the first half of the investigation, the theoretical properties of the estimators are compared using several superpopulation models; in the second half, the comparison is empirical, based on several real populations. Recommendations are made about the appropriateness of the various estimators.

Alternative models are presented for representing coverage error in surveys and censuses of human populations. The models are related to the capture—recapture models used in wildlife applications and to the dual-system models employed in the vital events literature. Estimation methodologies are discussed for one of the coverage error models. The theoretical foundations of the methodology are developed and distinctions are made between two kinds of error: (a) sampling error and (b) error associated with the model. An example involving data from the 1980 U.S. census is presented. The problem of adjusting census and survey data for coverage error is also discussed.