While the largest surveys are conducted by government agencies, many large surveys are conducted by private organizations including marketing firms and research institutions. Furthermore, massive numbers of statistics are produced from such surveys. In such a setting, the typical survey statistician prefers techniques with broad applicability that require a minimum of assumptions. Procedures are sought that are nearly design unbiased, but no claim of optimality is made for a particular statistic. These standard survey techniques are introduced in Chapter One. Basic sampling concepts are introduced in a way to facilitate the application of model-based procedures to survey samples. Likewise, models are used in constructing estimators in Chapter Two and throughout the discussions on designs in Chapter Three. Replication variance estimation is detailed in Chapter Four, and Chapter Five is devoted to procedures such as nonresponse adjustment and small area estimation where models play a central role. Survey data are now regularly used for the estimation of a parameter ø of a subject matter model and such estimation is discussed in Chapter Six.
