Combining multiple frames to estimate population size and totals - ARCHIVED

Efficient estimates of population size and totals based on information from multiple list frames and an independent area frame are considered. This work is an extension of the methodology proposed by Harley (1962) which considers two general frames. A main disadvantage of list frames is that they are typically incomplete. In this paper, we propose several methods to address frame deficiencies. A joint list-area sampling design incorporates multiple frames and achieves full coverage of the target population. For each combination of frames, we present the appropriate notation, likelihood function, and parameter estimators. Results from a simulation study that compares the various properties of the proposed estimators are also presented.