Indirect Sampling

Description and Use of the GWSM.- Literature Review.- Properties.- Other Generalisations.- Application in Longitudinal Surveys.- GWSM and Calibration.- Non-response.- GWSM and Record Linkage.- Conclusion.

When indirect sampling is used jointly with the sampling of clusters of persons many complications arise for the survey statistician. One of the complications relates to the computation of the estimates from the survey. The production of estimates of simple totals or means can then become nightmares for the survey statistician. This book proposes a simple, easy to implement solution to this problem: the generalized weight share method. It presents the theory surrounding indirect sampling and the generalized weight share method as well as the different possible applications that drive its interest. The reader will find in this book the answer to questions that come, inevitably, when working in a context of indirect sampling.

From the reviews:



"The author of the book wrote a doctoral thesis on indirect sampling, and this book evolved around his doctoral work. He adopts the classical design-based point of view: inferences are principally made with respect to the sampling plan. In general, the book is written with care and it represents a welcome contribution to the survey literature. ... It is likely that the audience of the book will be mainly composed of survey statisticians, researchers in sampling theory and graduate students." (Pierre Duchesne, Mathematical Reviews, Issue 2009 e)

"The classic paradigm for sampling inference is based on drawing a probability sample from a target population and then making an estimate of a population parameter of interest...based on the sample data. Of course, this presupposes that the target population is one from which a sample can be drawn, but in many situations this is not possible. This book is about what sometimes can be done instead, when we have access to another population that can be sampled and it is possible using information collected from this second, feasible sample to indentify some of the units in the target population, and thus to measure their values of Y. The set of values obtained in this way is usually referred to as an indirect sample from the target population. ...The author has been one of the main contributors to the development of a method of sample weighting, the generalized weight share method (GWSM), that can be used with such indirect samples. This method is the focus of this book. ...Overall, an experienced survey methodologist should find this book interesting..." ((Journal of the American Statistical Association, September 2009, Vol. 104, No. 487)

"Indirect Sampling is a book which contains ideas and results when the target population is not available, but the statistician has access to an indirectly related different list. ... the author explains a theory useful togovernments,