DISCUSSION OF "PROBABILITY SAMPLING BY CONNECTING SPACEWITH HOUSEHOLDS USING GIS/GPS TECHNOLOGIES" BY CHEN, X.; XU, X.; GONG, J.; YAN, Y.; FANG, L.

Many innovative, new sampling plans that have been proposed for use in "resource limited" settings use GIS, GPS and Google Earth technology. In this issue of JSSAM, Chen, et al. describe a GIS/GPS-assisted area probability sampling method and its application to an epidemiological study designed to investigate the relationship between social capital and HIV risk behaviors among rural immigrants to the city of Wuhan, China. The following discussion examines the strengths and weaknesses of the Chen et al. sampling plan and related applications of GIS/GPS/ Google Earth technology to area probability sampling of household target populations. The aim is to stimulate additional methodological research on GIS/GPS-assisted area probability sample designs, focused on the real constraints that exist in resource limited settings but with an eye to opportunities that the GIS/GPS and Google Earth technology provide to construct designs that are optimal under those constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]