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  • Textbook
  • © 2018

Practical Tools for Designing and Weighting Survey Samples

  • Step-by-step instructions for calculating survey weights
  • Extensive real-world examples and applications throughout
  • Demonstrates how to use existing software to solve survey problems
  • The most up-to-date textbook and professional reference for statistical survey sampling

Part of the book series: Statistics for Social and Behavioral Sciences (SSBS)

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Table of contents (19 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxvi
  2. An Overview of Sample Design and Weighting

    • Richard Valliant, Jill A. Dever, Frauke Kreuter
    Pages 1-11
  3. Designing Single-Stage Sample Surveys

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 13-13
    2. Project 1: Design a Single-Stage Personnel Survey

      • Richard Valliant, Jill A. Dever, Frauke Kreuter
      Pages 15-23
    3. Sample Design and Sample Size for Single-Stage Surveys

      • Richard Valliant, Jill A. Dever, Frauke Kreuter
      Pages 25-90
    4. Power Calculations and Sample Size Determination

      • Richard Valliant, Jill A. Dever, Frauke Kreuter
      Pages 91-128
    5. Mathematical Programming

      • Richard Valliant, Jill A. Dever, Frauke Kreuter
      Pages 129-168
    6. Outcome Rates and Effect on Sample Size

      • Richard Valliant, Jill A. Dever, Frauke Kreuter
      Pages 169-190
    7. The Personnel Survey Design Project: One Solution

      • Richard Valliant, Jill A. Dever, Frauke Kreuter
      Pages 191-201
  4. Multistage Designs

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 203-203
    2. Project 2: Designing an Area Sample

      • Richard Valliant, Jill A. Dever, Frauke Kreuter
      Pages 205-207
    3. Designing Multistage Samples

      • Richard Valliant, Jill A. Dever, Frauke Kreuter
      Pages 209-264
    4. Area Sampling

      • Richard Valliant, Jill A. Dever, Frauke Kreuter
      Pages 265-306
    5. The Area Sample Design: One Solution

      • Richard Valliant, Jill A. Dever, Frauke Kreuter
      Pages 307-314
  5. Survey Weights and Analyses

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 315-315
    2. Project 3: Weighting a Personnel Survey

      • Richard Valliant, Jill A. Dever, Frauke Kreuter
      Pages 317-320
    3. Basic Steps in Weighting

      • Richard Valliant, Jill A. Dever, Frauke Kreuter
      Pages 321-367
    4. Calibration and Other Uses of Auxiliary Data in Weighting

      • Richard Valliant, Jill A. Dever, Frauke Kreuter
      Pages 369-420
    5. Variance Estimation

      • Richard Valliant, Jill A. Dever, Frauke Kreuter
      Pages 421-480
    6. Weighting the Personnel Survey: One Solution

      • Richard Valliant, Jill A. Dever, Frauke Kreuter
      Pages 481-504

About this book

The goal of this book is to put an array of tools at the fingertips of students, practitioners, and researchers by explaining approaches long used by survey statisticians, illustrating how existing software can be used to solve survey problems, and developing some specialized software where needed.  This volume serves at least three audiences: (1) students of applied sampling techniques; 2) practicing survey statisticians applying concepts learned in theoretical or applied sampling courses; and (3) social scientists and other survey practitioners who design, select, and weight survey samples.

The text thoroughly covers fundamental aspects of survey sampling, such as sample size calculation (with examples for both single- and multi-stage sample design) and weight computation, accompanied by software examples to facilitate implementation. Features include step-by-step instructions for calculating survey weights, extensive real-world examples and applications, and representative programming code in R, SAS, and other packages.

Since the publication of the first edition in 2013, there have been important developments in making inferences from nonprobability samples, in address-based sampling (ABS), and in the application of machine learning techniques for survey estimation. New to this revised and expanded edition:

•           Details on new functions in the PracTools package

•           Additional machine learning methods to form weighting classes

•           New coverage of nonlinear optimization algorithms for sample allocation

•           Reflecting effects of multiple weighting steps (nonresponse and calibration) on standard errors

•           A new chapteron nonprobability sampling

•           Additional examples, exercises, and updated references throughout

Richard Valliant, PhD, is Research Professor Emeritus at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan and at the Joint Program in Survey Methodology at the University of Maryland. He is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association, an elected member of the International Statistical Institute, and has been an Associate Editor of the Journal of the American Statistical Association, Journal of Official Statistics, and Survey Methodology.   

Jill A. Dever, PhD, is Senior Research Statistician at RTI International in Washington, DC. She is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association, Associate Editor for Survey Methodology and the Journal of Official Statistics, and an Assistant Research Professor in the Joint Program in Survey Methodology at the University of Maryland. She has served on several panels for the National Academy of Sciences and as a task force member for the American Association of Public Opinion Research’s report on nonprobability sampling.

Frauke Kreuter, PhD, is Professor and Director of the Joint Program in Survey Methodology at the University of Maryland, Professor of Statistics and Methodology at the University of Mannheim, and Head of the Statistical Methods Research Department at the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) in Nürnberg, Germany. She is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association and has been Associate Editor of the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Journal of Official Statistics, Sociological Methods and Research, Survey Research Methods, Public Opinion Quarterly, American Sociological Review, and the Stata Journal. She is founder of the International Program for Survey and Data Science and co-founder of the Coleridge Initiative.


Reviews

“This book attempts to explain long used approaches, illustrate how existing software can be used to solve survey problems, and develop some specialized software where needed with a focus on related practitioners (i.e. students, survey statisticians, and other survey practitioners). … this book may be useful to students, survey statisticians, social scientists and other survey practitioners. The book may also serve as a useful reference for other professionals engaged in the conduct of sample surveys.” (Sada Nand Dwivedi, ISCB News, iscb.info, Issue 67, June, 2019)

Authors and Affiliations

  • University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA

    Richard Valliant

  • RTI International, Washington, DC, USA

    Jill A. Dever

  • University of Maryland, College Park, USA

    Frauke Kreuter

About the authors

Richard Valliant, PhD, is Research Professor Emeritus at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan and at the Joint Program in Survey Methodology at the University of Maryland. He is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association, an elected member of the International Statistical Institute, and has been an Associate Editor of the Journal of the American Statistical AssociationJournal of Official Statistics, and Survey Methodology.   

Jill A. Dever, PhD, is Senior Research Statistician at RTI International in Washington, DC. She is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association, Associate Editor for Survey Methodology and the Journal of Official Statistics, and an Assistant Research Professor in the Joint Program in Survey Methodology at the University of Maryland. She has served on several panels for the National Academy of Sciences and as a task force member for the American Association of Public Opinion Research’s report on nonprobability sampling.

Frauke Kreuter, PhD, is Professor and Director of the Joint Program in Survey Methodology at the University of Maryland, Professor of Statistics and Methodology at the University of Mannheim, and Head of the Statistical Methods Research Department at the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) in Nürnberg, Germany. She is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association and has been Associate Editor of the Journal of the Royal Statistical SocietyJournal of Official StatisticsSociological Methods and ResearchSurvey Research MethodsPublic Opinion QuarterlyAmerican Sociological Review, and the Stata Journal. She is founder of the International Program for Survey and Data Science and co-founder of the Coleridge Initiative.

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 69.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 89.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 139.99
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