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Methods in Epidemiology

Population Size Estimation

  • Presents an essential question that needs to be answered in order to estimate the burden of disease in any population: What is the size of a hard-to-reach / unobserved populations at risk for a disease?
  • Provides an overview of the different methods to estimate the size of hard-to-reach populations, with an extensive focus on the network scale-up method
  • Introduces a network scale-up method which is a promising method to estimate the size of hard-to-reach populations at both the local and national levels and does not require direct contact with members of hard-to-reach populations, and is much more feasible than many others
  • Features details on how to design, implement, analyze, triangulate results, and extrapolate findings to subnational and national levels using real-world examples of network scale-up projects
  • Is full of real-world examples with appendices that include analysis code in R, Stata, and Excel

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology (AEMB, volume 1333)

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Table of contents (4 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-vii
  2. Review of Size Estimation Methods

    • Mohammad Reza Baneshi, Azam Rastegari, Ali Akbar Haghdoost
    Pages 1-15
  3. Methods to Estimate the Average Social Network Size

    • Mohammad Reza Baneshi, Saiedeh Haji-Maghsoudi, Azam Rastegari, Ali Mirzazadeh
    Pages 17-37
  4. Estimating the Size of Hidden Groups

    • Mohammad Reza Baneshi, Farzaneh Zolala, Saiedeh Haji-Maghsoudi, Maryam Zamanian, Ali Akbar Haghdoost, Ali Mirzazadeh
    Pages 39-59
  5. Data Smoothing, Extrapolation, and Triangulation

    • Ali Mirzazadeh, Mohammad Reza Baneshi
    Pages 61-72

About this book

This book describes the variety of direct and indirect population size estimation (PSE) methods available along with their strengths and weaknesses. Direct estimation methods, such as enumeration and mapping, involve contact with members of hard-to-reach groups. Indirect methods have practical appeal because they require no contact with members of hard-to-reach groups. One indirect method in particular, network scale-up (NSU), has several strengths over other PSE methods: It can be applied at a province/country level, it can estimate size of several hard-to-reach population in a single study, and it is implemented with members of the general population rather than members of hard-to-reach groups.


The book discusses methods to collect, analyze, and adjust results and presents methods to triangulate and finalize PSEs.

Editors and Affiliations

  • University of California, San Francisco, USA

    George Rutherford

About the editor

George W. Rutherford is the Salvatore Pablo Lucia Professor of Epidemiology, Preventive Medicine, Pediatrics and History at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Methods in Epidemiology

  • Book Subtitle: Population Size Estimation

  • Editors: George Rutherford

  • Series Title: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-75464-8

  • Publisher: Springer Cham

  • eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life Sciences, Biomedical and Life Sciences (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-75463-1Published: 03 August 2021

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-75466-2Published: 04 August 2022

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-75464-8Published: 02 August 2021

  • Series ISSN: 0065-2598

  • Series E-ISSN: 2214-8019

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: VII, 72

  • Number of Illustrations: 2 b/w illustrations, 1 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Epidemiology, Genetics and Population Dynamics

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access