Introduction

Abstract

The theory and applications of survey sampling have grown dramatically in the last 60 years. Hundreds of surveys are now carried out each year in the private sector, the academic community, and various governmental agencies, both in the United States and abroad. Examples include market research and public opinion surveys; surveys associated with academic research studies; and large nationwide surveys about labor force participation, health care, energy usage, and economic activity. Survey samples now impinge upon almost every field of scientific study, including agriculture, demography, education, energy, transportation, health care, economics, politics, sociology, geology, forestry, and so on. Indeed, it is not an overstatement to say that much of the data undergoing any form of statistical analysis are collected in surveys.