Procedures to account for entries in business surveys

This paper discusses in detail issues dealing with the technical aspects of designing and conducting surveys. It is intended for an audience of survey methodologists.

The Economic Directorate of the United States Bureau of the Census conducts a number of surveys designed to provide estimates for several sectors of the economy, including Mining, Manufacturing, Wholesale and Retail Trade, and Services. Most of these programs rely on probability samples to represent the specific target populations. The true populations are constantly changing; there are entries, exits, organizational changes, and classification changes. To assure that our samples remain representative of the changing populations, sample maintenance procedures have been developed and implemented. One significant part of sample maintenance is accounting for births and population entries. This paper presents and contrasts the sample maintenance procedures for births and entries currently in place for the various sectors.