637 – The Use of Auxiliary Data in Frame Development, Coverage Assessment, and Field Data Collection
The Effects of Address Coverage Enhancement on Estimates from a Study using an ABS Frame
Michael Jones
Westat
J. Michael Brick
Westat
Andrea Piesse
Westat
For over a decade, address-based sampling (ABS) frames have often been used to draw samples for multi-stage area sample surveys in lieu of traditionally listed (or enumerated) address frames. However, it is well-known that ABS frames suffer from under-coverage due to, for example, households that receive mail via a PO Box rather than delivered to the address on the U.S. Postal Service address file. Under-coverage of ABS frames has typically been more prominent in rural areas, but can also occur in urban areas where recent construction of households has taken place. Procedures have been developed to supplement ABS frames in order to address this under-coverage. In this paper we investigate a procedure called Address Coverage Enhancement (ACE) that supplements ABS frames with addresses not found on the frames. We present the effect that addresses added to the sample through ACE have on estimates from a multi-stage area sample survey that utilized an ABS sample frame when selecting addresses. Estimates are calculated with and without supplemental addresses.