A moving stratification algorithm - ARCHIVED

A general algorithm with equal probabilities is presented. The author provides the second order inclusion probabilities that correspond to the algorithm, which generalizes the selection-rejection method, so that a sample may be drawn using simple random sampling without replacement. Another particular case of the algorithm, called moving stratification algorithm, is discussed. A smooth stratification effect can be obtained by using, as a stratification variable, the serial number of the observation units. The author provides approximations of first and second order inclusion probabilities. These approximations lead to a population mean estimator and to an estimator of the variance of this mean estimator. The algorithm is then compared to a classical stratified plan with proportional allocation.