NCJ Number
50427
Date Published
1978
Length
526 pages
Annotation
TECHNIQUES BASIC TO DESIGNING SURVEYS AND ANALYZING THEIR DATA ARE DISCUSSED. DATA QUALITY AND COMMON PROBLEMS AFFECTING IT ARE ALSO CONSIDERED.
Abstract
THE TEXT OPENS WITH A DISCUSSION OF THE NATURE OF STATISTICAL SURVEYS, PLANNING INVOLVED IN A SURVEY, AND BASIC CONSIDERATIONS INFLUENCING SAMPLE CHOICE. CONCEPTS OF THE STUDY UNIVERSE AND ITS POPULATION ARE INTRODUCED TO ILLUSTRATE THE ELEMENTS OF RANDOM SAMPLING. PROCEDURES DESCRIBED FOR RANDOM SAMPLING INCLUDE REPLACEMENT AND NONREPLACEMENT, THE FORMER BEING MORE EFFICIENT. THE NEED FOR VARIANCE IS CONSIDERED, AND ITS USEFULNESS IN COMPARING SAMPLE DESIGNS, IN DETERMINING THE CONFIDENCE TO BE PLACED IN AN INFLUENCING FACTOR, IN DETERMINING THE REQUIRED SAMPLE SIZE, AND IN TESTING STATISTICAL HYPOTHESES IS EXPLAINED. GUIDELINES ARE GIVEN FOR CHOOSING THE TYPE AND SIZE OF THE SAMPLING UNIT AND FOR SELECTING EFFICIENT ESTIMATION SCHEMES. BASIC PRINCIPLES FOR CONSTRUCTING SAMPLING FRAMES ARE PROVIDED FOR AREA SAMPLING, AND STRATIFICATION, A PROCEDURE FOR SELECTING SAMPLES USING CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS OR CONSTRAINTS ALONG WITH RANDOMIZATION, IS DESCRIBED. A CHAPTER ON ELEMENTS OF PROBABILITY SAMPLING INCLUDES DISCUSSION OF REPLACEMENT AND NONREPLACEMENT SELECTION. SUBSAMPLING (MULTISTAGE), DOUBLE SAMPLING (MULTIPHASE), AND LATTICE SAMPLING (MULTISTRATIFICATION) ARE EXPLAINED. MISCELLANEOUS SURVEY TECHNIQUES BESIDES SAMPLING ARE CONSIDERED, ALONG WITH COVERAGE, CANVASSING, AND MEASUREMENT. THE FINAL SEGMENT DESCRIBES DATA PROCESSING AND QUALITY, ANALYSIS OF DATA, AND DATA PRESENTATION. EACH SECTION OPENS WITH AN OUTLINE AND CONCLUDES WITH A SUMMARY, REVIEW ILLUSTRATIONS, EXERCISES, AND A LIST OF REFERENCES. THE APPENDIXES CONTAIN TABLES OF RANDOM DIGITS, AREAS OF STANDARD NORMAL DISTRIBUTION, CONFIDENCE INTERVALS FOR BINOMIAL DISTRIBUTION, AND VALUES FOR GIVEN LEVELS OF PROBABILITY. AN INDEX IS PROVIDED. (DAG) OF PROBABILITY. AN INDEX IS PROVIDED. (DAG)