Estimation in Surveys with Nonresponse
Chapter One
The Survey and Its
Imperfections
2.1. THE SURVEY OBJECTIVE
The objective of a survey is to provide information about unknown characteristics,
called parameters, of a finite collection of elements, called a population,
such as a population of individuals, of households, or of enterprises. A typical
survey involves many study variables and produces estimates of different types
of parameters. Simple parameters are the total or the mean of a study variable,
or the ratio of the totals of two study variables. Different types of elements are
sometimes measured in the same survey, as when both individuals and households
are observed.
Many surveys are conducted periodically, for example monthly or yearly. As
a consequence, an important objective is to measure the change in the level of a
variable between two survey occasions. The objectives of estimation of change
and estimation of level often coexist in a survey, but they may require somewhat
different techniques.
A survey usually originates in an expressed need for information ab ... read full excerpt from Estimation in Surveys with Nonresponse ebook
