Single and Multi-Mode Surveys Using Address-Based Sampling

Colm O'Muircheartaigh, PhD
Thursday, June 7, 2012

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About this Course

The course will present an overview of address-based sampling (ABS) for survey design within its historical context.  Emphasis will be given to the typical and specialized challenges encountered in ABS surveys in real-world situations. 

The course will present the following themes:

• historical context with traditional listing and random-digit dial surveys;
• an introduction to address-databases including the United States Postal Service delivery sequence file (DSF) and its vendors;
• the importance of geographic information systems (GIS) and geocoding; the coverage properties of lists;

  The course will present an overview of address-based sampling (ABS) for survey design within its historical context.  Emphasis will be given to the typical and specialized challenges encountered in ABS surveys in real-world situations. 

  The course will present the following themes:

  • historical context with traditional listing and random-digit dial surveys;
  • an introduction to address-databases including the United States Postal Service delivery sequence file (DSF) and its vendors;
  • the importance of geographic information systems (GIS) and geocoding; the coverage properties of lists;
  • costs and benefits of enhancing commercial databases;
  • examples of ABS and the DSF in survey research including NORC studies such as Making Connections as well as the American Community Survey; and
  • challenges of ABS including rural areas, invisible boundaries for local area samples, telephone matching, drop points, community samples, and targeted minority samples.

  Learning Objective

  Discuss the issues related to design and implantation of ABS studies, including studies targeting areas and populations.

  About the Instructor

  Colm A. O’Muircheartaigh is dean of the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy Studies, Professor in the Harris School, and senior fellow at NORC at the University of Chicago.  He is one of the nation’s leading experts in the design and implementation of social investigations in general, and ABS specifically.  Beginning in 2002, and throughout the decade, O’Muircheartaigh and his team played a crucial role in the dissemination of these ideas by presenting papers on their research every year at the AAPOR conference, publishing key papers in the conference proceedings, and presenting the principal ideas at major conferences of Federal and other social research professionals.