Introduction to Variance Estimation

The book is organized in a way that emphasizes both the theory and applications of the various variance estimating techniques. Each technique is presented in a separate chapter, and each chapter divided into several main sections. The opening sections deal with the theory and motivation for the particular method of variance estimation. Results are often presented in the form of theorems; proofs are deleted when trivial or when a reference is readily available. The latter sections of each chapter present numerical examples where the particular technique was applied (and perhaps modified) to a real survey. The objectives of this organization format are to provide the student with a firm technical understanding of the methods of variance estimation; to stimulate further research on the various techniques, particularly as they apply to large, complex surveys; and to provide an easy reference for the survey researcher who is faced with the problem of estimating variances for real survey data.