Imputation in surveys: Coping with reality - ARCHIVED

In surveys a response may be incomplete or some items may be inconsistent or, as in the case of two-phase sampling, items may be unavailable. In these cases it may be expedient to impute values for the missing items. While imputation is not a particularly good solution to any specific estimation problem, it does permit the production of arbitrary estimates in a consistent way.

The survey statistician may have to cope with a mixture of numerical and categorical items, subject to a variety of constraints. He should evaluate his technique, especially with respect to bias. He should make sure that imputed items are clearly identified and summary reports produced.

A variety of imputation techniques in current use is described and discussed, with particular reference to the practical problems involved.