On some common practices of systematic sampling
On some common practices of systematic sampling
Systematic sampling is a widely used technique in survey sampling. It is easy to execute, whether the units are to be selected with equal probability or with probabilities proportional to auxiliary sizes. It can be very efficient if one manages to achieve favourable stratification effects through the listing of units. The main disadvantages are that there is no unbiased method for estimating the sampling variance, and that systematic sampling may be poor when the ordering of the population is based on inaccurate knowledge. In this article we examine an aspect of the systematic sampling that previously has not received much attention. It is shown that in a number of common situations, where the systematic sampling has on average the same efficiency as the corresponding random sampling alternatives under an assumed model for the population, the sampling variance fluctuates much more with the systematic sampling. The use of systematic sampling is associated with a risk that in general increases with the sampling fraction. This can be highly damaging for large samples from small populations in the case of single-stage sampling, or large subsamples from small subpopulations in the case of multi-stage sampling.
557-569
Zhang, Li-Chun
a5d48518-7f71-4ed9-bdcb-6585c2da3649
2008
Zhang, Li-Chun
a5d48518-7f71-4ed9-bdcb-6585c2da3649
Zhang, Li-Chun
(2008)
On some common practices of systematic sampling.
Journal of Official Statistics, 24 (4), .
Abstract
Systematic sampling is a widely used technique in survey sampling. It is easy to execute, whether the units are to be selected with equal probability or with probabilities proportional to auxiliary sizes. It can be very efficient if one manages to achieve favourable stratification effects through the listing of units. The main disadvantages are that there is no unbiased method for estimating the sampling variance, and that systematic sampling may be poor when the ordering of the population is based on inaccurate knowledge. In this article we examine an aspect of the systematic sampling that previously has not received much attention. It is shown that in a number of common situations, where the systematic sampling has on average the same efficiency as the corresponding random sampling alternatives under an assumed model for the population, the sampling variance fluctuates much more with the systematic sampling. The use of systematic sampling is associated with a risk that in general increases with the sampling fraction. This can be highly damaging for large samples from small populations in the case of single-stage sampling, or large subsamples from small subpopulations in the case of multi-stage sampling.
This record has no associated files available for download.
More information
Published date: 2008
Organisations:
Statistical Sciences Research Institute
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 345172
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/345172
ISSN: 0282-423X
PURE UUID: ec29b1f6-a5de-44fb-b3b3-eaf59c337c53
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 12 Nov 2012 10:27
Last modified: 23 Feb 2023 02:59
Export record
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics
