A better understanding of weight transformation through a measure of change - ARCHIVED

The objective of this paper is to study and measure the change (from the initial to the final weight) which results from the procedure used to modify weights. A breakdown of the final weights is proposed in order to evaluate the relative impact of the nonresponse adjustment, the correction for poststratification and the interaction between these two adjustments. This measure of change is used as a tool for comparing the effectiveness of the various methods for adjusting for nonresponse, in particular the methods relying on the formation of Response Homogeneity Groups. The measure of change is examined through a simulation study, which uses data from a Statistics Canada longitudinal survey, the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics. The measure of change is also applied to data obtained from a second longitudinal survey, the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth.