Collecting, managing, and assessing data using sample surveys

Cover -- Collecting, Managing, and Assessing Data Using Sample Surveys -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Figures -- Tables -- Acknowledgements -- 1: Introduction -- 1.1 The purpose of this book -- 1.2 Scope of the book -- 1.3 Survey statistics -- 2: Basic statistics and probability -- 2.1 Some definitions in statistics -- 2.1.1 Censuses and surveys -- 2.2 Describing data -- 2.2.1 Types of scales -- Nominal scales -- Ordinal scales -- Interval scales -- Ratio scale -- Measurement scales -- 2.2.2 Data presentation: graphics -- 2.2.3 Data presentation: non-graphical -- Measures of magnitude -- Frequencies and proportions -- Central measures of data -- Examples -- Measures of dispersion -- The normal distribution -- Some useful properties of variances and standard deviations -- Examples -- 3: Basic issues in surveys -- 3.1 Need for survey methods -- 3.1.1 A definition of sampling methodology -- 3.2 Surveys and censuses -- 3.2.1 Costs -- 3.2.2 Time -- 3.3 Representativeness -- 3.3.1 Randomness -- 3.3.2 Probability sampling -- 3.4 Errors and bias -- 3.4.1 Sample design and sampling error -- 3.4.2 Bias -- 3.4.3 Avoiding bias -- 3.5 Some important definitions -- 4: Ethics of surveys of human populations -- 4.1 Why ethics? -- 4.2 Codes of ethics or practice -- 4.3 Potential threats to confidentiality -- 4.3.1 Retaining detail and confidentiality -- 4.4 Informed consent -- 4.5 Conclusions -- 5: Designing a survey -- 5.1 Components of survey design -- 5.2 Defining the survey purpose -- 5.2.1 Components of survey purpose -- Data needs -- Comparability or innovation -- Defining data needs -- Data needs in human subject surveys -- Survey timing -- Geographic bounds for the survey -- 5.3 Trade-offs in survey design -- 6: Methods for conducting surveys of human populations -- 6.1 Overview -- 6.2 Face-to-face interviews -- 6.3 Postal surveys.