INTRODUCTION TO SURVEY SAMPLING A two-day short course sponsored by the Joint Program in Survey Methodology

DECEMBER 18-19, 2012
Presented at the Bureau of Labor Statistics Conference Center

COLM O’MUIRCHEARTAIGH
Dean and Professor, Harris School, University of Chicago; Senior Fellow, NORC

JAMES M. LEPKOWSKI
Professor, University of Michigan
Research Professor, Joint Program in Survey Methodology, University of Maryland

COURSE OBJECTIVES
This is a foundation course in sample survey methods and principles.  The instructors will present, in a non-technical manner, basic sampling techniques such as simple random sampling, systematic sampling, stratification, and cluster sampling.  The instructors will provide opportunities to implement sampling techniques in a series of exercises that accompany each topic.  Group work is an integral part of the course.  Participants will be allocated arbitrarily to four-person groups who will collaborate on the solution of course exercises.  All participants must bring a calculator that includes at least a square root function in order to complete group exercises.  Participants should not expect to obtain sufficient background in this course to master survey sampling, but they can expect to become familiar with basic techniques well enough to converse with sampling statisticians more easily about sample design.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND
This is a foundation course in sample survey methods and principles.  The instructors will present, in a non-technical manner, basic sampling techniques such as simple random sampling, systematic sampling, stratification, and cluster sampling.  The instructors will provide opportunities to implement sampling techniques in a series of exercises that accompany each topic.  Group work is an integral part of the course.  Participants will be allocated arbitrarily to four-person groups who will collaborate on the solution of course exercises.  All participants must bring a calculator that includes at least a square root function in order to complete group exercises.  Participants should not expect to obtain sufficient background in this course to master survey sampling, but they can expect to become familiar with basic techniques well enough to converse with sampling statisticians more easily about sample design.

THE INSTRUCTORS

Colm O’Muircheartaigh is Dean and Professor in the Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies and Senior Fellow in the National Opinion Research Center , both at the University of Chicago.  He was formerly at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), where he had been a faculty member in the Department of Statistics since 1971.  He was the first director of The Methodology Institute, the LSE center for research and training in social science methodology. He selected his first national sample in 1968 (a probability sample of manufacturing establishments in Ireland). Together with Vijay Verma and Christopher Scott, he was responsible for the sample designs for the World Fertility Survey (1976-84), and was a member of the Sampling Advisory Group for the UK Office of Population Censuses and Surveys.  He was Sampling Coordinator for two cross-national studies by the International Association for Educational Assessment (IEA) (1988-94 and 1997-2001) and for the OECD Network C cross-national study (1994-6).  Since joining NORC in 1998, he has been responsible for the re-design of the national sampling frame and the introduction and evaluation of list-based sampling for national and local probability samples of households. His research encompasses measurement errors in surveys, cognitive aspects of question wording, and latent variable models for nonresponse.  He has served as a consultant to a wide range of public and commercial organizations, including the BBC World Service, AGB, British Household Panel Survey, and the U.S. Bureaus of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau.

James M. Lepkowski is Research Professor at the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, where he directed the Michigan Program in Survey Methodology.  He is Professor of Biostatistics at Michigan and Research Professor in the Joint Program in Survey Methodology at the University of Maryland.  His research encompasses telephone sampling design, analysis of complex sample survey data, methods for compensating for missing data in surveys, and the behavior of interviewers and respondents in survey interviews.  He has served as a consultant for public and private organizations, including the U.S. Bureaus of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau, the National Center for Health Statistics, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, and the National Center for Education Statistics.

CALCULATOR
Please bring a calculator to class. The calculator should include at least a square root function in order to complete the group exercises.

COURSE MATERIALS
Registrants will be provided with a course lecture notebook.

MEALS
JPSM group continental breakfasts, lunches and refreshments are included in the course fee.

DAILY CHECK-IN
Course registrants must check-in with JPSM Onsite each day of the course.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE

BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS CONFERENCE CENTER
Postal Square Building, 2 Massachusetts Avenue, NE, Washington, DC 20212-0001 

Visitor Entrance: 1st Street, NE
Conference Center: 202.691.6800
Classroom: 1-2

VISITOR ENTRANCE
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Postal Square Building, 1st Street, NE Washington, DC 20212-0001

Registrants must enter through the visitor entrance on 1st street. Do not use the main entrance on Massachusetts Avenue.

ID REQUIREMENT
All visitors must present a valid photo ID at the visitor’s entrance and pick up a visitor’s badge. Please arrive 10 minutes early to allow enough time to go through security.

SCREENING
Visitors and packages will be processed through the x-ray and metal detector screening equipment.

OVERNIGHT ROOMS
Individuals are responsible for making their own overnight room reservations and for payment.

METRO: Union Station (Red Line)
Traveling by metro is preferred. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is located across the street from Union Station. Take the Metro Red Line to Union Station. Exit the platform at the North end of the station (exit that says to Amtrak trains). There is a doorway exit to the left of the turnstiles and manager’s kiosk. Go out that door instead of taking the escalator up to Union Station and straight across the street is the visitor’s entrance to BLS.

TRAVEL RESOURCES
Amtrak:  www.amtrak.com
MARC Train:  www.mtamaryland.com
Metro Rail & Bus:  www.wmata.com
Parking Locations: http://washingtondc.bestparking.com/index.php#1   also  www.parkingcarma.com
Supper Shuttle: http://www.supershuttle.com/
Union Station Information: http://www.wmata.com/rail/station_detail.cfm?station_id=25
Union Station Map: http://www.stationmasters.com/System_Map/UNIONSTA/unionsta.html
VRE Train: www.vre.org/
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority: http://www.wmata.com

PARKING
Traveling by metro is preferred. Parking is available in a number of commercial parking lots within a 1-4 block radius of BLS. Daily parking fees range from $14-20.

TRAIN
Union Station: Amtrak, MARC and VRE

JPSM CITATION PROGRAM
The citation programs are built around the JPSM short courses. The JPSM Citation in Introductory Survey Methodology is designed to provide the working professional or interested student with state-of-the-art knowledge about current principles and practices for conducting complex surveys combined with practical skills of day-to-day utility. The JPSM Citation in Introductory Economic Measurement is designed for professional staff who need to know the principles and practices of economic measurement. Completion of either citation program involves taking a semester-length JPSM credit-bearing course and eight JPSM short courses, of which four are specified core courses. For information on the Certificate and Citation Programs visit the website at http://www.jpsm.org or call 301.314.7911.

INQUIRIES
Questions for this course should be directed to the JPSM Short Course, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, 426 Thompson Street, Room 4006, Ann Arbor, MI 48104-2321, Phone: 800.937.9320, Fax: 734.764.8263, Email: jpsmshort@umich.edu.

Short Courses: www.jpsm.org/shortcourses
Sponsor Affiliate List: projects.isr.umich.edu/jpsm/info.cfm#sponsors

JPSM Home Page: www.jpsm.org

Tax Identification Number (University of Michigan): 38-6006309  

DUNS (University of Michigan): 073133571