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Balanced sampling is a random method for sample selection, the use of which is preferable when auxiliary information is available for all units of a population. However, implementing balanced sampling can be a challenging task, and this is due in part to the computational efforts required and the necessity to respect balancing constraints and inclusion probabilities. In the present paper, a new algorithm for selecting balanced samples is proposed. This method is inspired by simulated annealing algorithms, as a balanced sample selection can be interpreted as an optimization problem. A set of simulation experiments and an example using real data shows the efficiency and the accuracy of the proposed algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatially distributed data exhibit particular characteristics that should be considered when designing a survey of spatial units. Unfortunately, traditional sampling designs generally do not allow for spatial features, even though it is usually desirable to use information concerning spatial dependence in a sampling design. This paper reviews and compares some recently developed randomised spatial sampling procedures, using simple random sampling without replacement as a benchmark for comparison. The approach taken is design-based and serves to corroborate intuitive arguments about the need to explicitly integrate spatial dependence into sampling survey theory. Some guidance for choosing an appropriate spatial sampling design is provided, and some empirical evidence for the gains from using these designs with spatial populations is presented, using two datasets as illustrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]