IDA/Statistics
Annica Isaksson, Anders Nordgaard
October 11, 2011
732A28: Instructions for the project
work
The aim of the project work is to deepen the understanding of survey sampling by studying how the
theory is applied in real surveys. It is a mandatory feature of the course, corresponding to 1.5 ECTS.
Organization of the work
The project work is to be executed either individually or in pairs.
Each project group is to select a real survey to work with. The survey should be:
 A large-scale survey.
 A sample survey (not a census).
 Reasonably well documented.
The survey may be conducted in any country of your choice. It can, but does not necessarily have to
be, part of the country’s official statistics. The target population can be, for instance, individuals,
households or enterprises. Some examples of possible surveys are Labor Force Surveys, Household
Budget Surveys and various business surveys.
NOTE: Each project group is asked to report its composition (name of participants) and choice of
survey no later than October 28, 2011 (anders.nordgaard@liu.se).
NOTE: For supervision during the course of the project work, please schedule a time with Anders.
The work
When a choice of survey has been made, the real work begins. You have two main tasks: (1) to
investigate how the survey currently is designed, and (2) to suggest some improvements of, or
alternatives to, the current design.
Understand the survey design
Your first problem is to investigate the current survey design. Try to answer the following questions:
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What are the objectives of the survey?
What is the target population? Are there any important domains of study?
What are the main variables of study? The main parameters?
What sampling frame (s) are used?
What sampling design is used?
How are data collected?
How are the parameters estimated?
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How is missing data (nonresponse) treated?
In your investigation, focus on three components: the sampling design, the estimation and the
treatment of nonresponse. Try to understand the rationales behind them: Why is this sampling
design used? Why are these estimators used? Why is nonresponse treated the way it is?
Evaluate the survey design
By now, you have a clear picture of the survey. Your second task is to evaluate it. Try to identify the
strengths and weaknesses of the current sampling design, the current estimators, and the current
way of dealing with nonresponse. Try to suggest some improvements, or, at least, some alternative
approaches.
Report your findings
Each group is asked to report their findings in
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in a written report of approximately 4-5 pages