Another type of simulation problem is involved in testing the efficacy of a statistical approach that cannot be solved with a closed-form analytic equation. For example, ORC Macro senior staff have recently conducted simulation studies to determine sample design trade-offs involved in a project aimed at oversampling minority group populations. Sample Design and Variance Estimation. ORC Macro has extensive resources related to complex sample design and statistical estimation problems. For the U.S. Agency for International Development, we conduct nationally representative sample surveys in developing countries and face many complex design problems.
Many studies have to deal with complex topography about which little is known.
We have had to do ground-up design beginning with aerial surveys of terrain. Our record in conducting these projects for more than 20 years, creating a trusted archive on the demographics of developing nations speaks for itself. ISSA is widely used throughout the developing world to collect and analyze survey data. In the U.S., we conduct a broad range of national, regional, list-based surveys, many of which require significant innovation. We design and maintain several national sampling frames, including a telephone sampling frame of the United States residential population and a sampling frame of all schools in the United States.