Design-Based Approach for Analysing Survey Data in Veterinary Research

Sample surveys are an essential approach used in veterinary research and investigation. A sample obtained from a well-designed sampling process along with robust data analysis can provide valuable insight into the attributes of the target population. Two approaches, design-based or model-based, can be used as inferential frameworks for analysing survey data. Compared to the model-based approach, the design-based approach is usually more straightforward and directly makes inferences about the finite target population (such as the dairy cows in a herd or dogs in a region) rather than an infinite superpopulation. In this paper, the concept of probability sampling and the design-based approach is briefly reviewed, followed by a discussion of the estimations and their justifications in the context of several different elementary sampling methods, including simple random sampling, stratified random sampling, and one-stage cluster sampling. Finally, a concrete example of a complex survey design (involving multistage sampling and stratification) is demonstrated, illustrating how finding unbiased estimators and their corresponding variance formulas for a complex survey builds on the techniques used in elementary sampling methods.

Keywords

design-based approach, sampling, survey methodology, unbiasedness, variance estimation

Citation

Yang DA, Laven RA. (2021). Design-Based Approach for Analysing Survey Data in Veterinary Research.. Vet Sci. 8. 6. (pp. 105-).

URI

https://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/70587

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