Updating the Measures of Size of Local Areas Late in the Decade Using USPS Address Lists

• Activity Number: 514
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Wednesday, August 3, 2011 : 8:30 AM to 10:20 AM
• Sponsor: Section on Survey Research Methods
• Author(s): Sylvia Dohrmann and Lin Li*+ and Leyla K. Mohadjer
• Companies: Westat Inc. and Westat Inc.
• Keywords: USPS ; area sample ; measure of size (MOS)

Abstract

Area household surveys conducted in the United States most often rely on data from the Census Bureau to calculate measures of size (MOS) of secondary sampling units (SSUs or segments). Yet, late in the decade demographic or housing data from the last decennial census are likely to be inaccurate in local areas with considerable growth or demographic shifts since the census taking and intercensal estimate are not available at the required level. Address lists available from the United States Postal Service (USPS) have been incorporated into survey sample designs in various capacities over the past decade: telephone surveys are using these lists as a first phase of selection; in-person area surveys are using them in place of the traditional address listing process; and mail surveys are becoming much more prevalent. In all these instances, the lists are being used as sampling frames. This pa