Modeling and analyzing respondent-driven sampling as a counting process
From MaRDI portal
Publication:4556702
DOI10.1111/BIOM.12678zbMATH Open1405.62157arXiv1304.3505OpenAlexW93380998WikidataQ38931085 ScholiaQ38931085MaRDI QIDQ4556702FDOQ4556702
Authors: Yakir Berchenko, Jonathan D. Rosenblatt, Simon D. W. Frost 
Publication date: 16 November 2018
Published in: Biometrics (Search for Journal in Brave)
Abstract: Respondent-driven sampling (RDS) is an approach to sampling design and analysis which utilizes the networks of social relationships that connect members of the target population, using chain-referral methods to facilitate sampling. RDS typically leads to biased sampling, favoring participants with many acquaintances. Naive estimates, such as the sample average, which are uncorrected for the sampling bias, will themselves be biased. To compensate for this bias, current methodology suggests inverse-degree weighting, where the "degree" is the number of acquaintances. This stems from the fundamental RDS assumption that the probability of sampling an individual is proportional to their degree. Since this assumption is tenuous at best, we propose to harness the additional information encapsulated in the time of recruitment, into a model-based inference framework for RDS. This information is typically collected by researchers, but ignored. We adapt methods developed for inference in epidemic processes to estimate the population size, degree counts and frequencies. While providing valuable information in themselves, these quantities ultimately serve to debias other estimators, such a disease's prevalence. A fundamental advantage of our approach is that, being model-based, it makes all assumptions of the data-generating process explicit. This enables verification of the assumptions, maximum likelihood estimation, extension with covariates, and model selection. We develop asymptotic theory, proving consistency and asymptotic normality properties. We further compare these estimators to the standard inverse-degree weighting through simulations, and using real-world data. In both cases we find our estimators to outperform current methods. The likelihood problem in the model we present is convex, and thus efficiently solvable. We implement these estimators in an R package, chords, available on CRAN.
Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/1304.3505
Recommendations
- Improved inference for respondent-driven sampling data with application to HIV prevalence estimation
- Hidden population size estimation from respondent-driven sampling: a network approach
- Novel sampling design for respondent-driven sampling
- Estimating hidden population size using respondent-driven sampling data
Applications of statistics to biology and medical sciences; meta analysis (62P10) Sampling theory, sample surveys (62D05)
Cited In (15)
- A simulation-based framework for assessing the feasibility of respondent-driven sampling for estimating characteristics in populations of lesbian, gay and bisexual older adults
- Title not available (Why is that?)
- Estimating hidden population size using respondent-driven sampling data
- Unequal edge inclusion probabilities in link-tracing network sampling with implications for respondent-driven sampling
- DIFFUSION LIMITS FOR A MARKOV MODULATED BINOMIAL COUNTING PROCESS
- Bias-variance and breadth-depth tradeoffs in respondent-driven sampling
- Hidden population size estimation from respondent-driven sampling: a network approach
- Improved inference for respondent-driven sampling data with application to HIV prevalence estimation
- The effect of differential recruitment, non-response and non-recruitment on estimators for respondent-driven sampling
- Nonparametric identification for respondent-driven sampling
- Novel sampling design for respondent-driven sampling
- Asymptotic seed bias in respondent-driven sampling
- Generalized least squares can overcome the critical threshold in respondent-driven sampling
- Inference for respondent-driven sampling with misclassification
- A dual-frame approach for estimation with respondent-driven samples
Uses Software
This page was built for publication: Modeling and analyzing respondent-driven sampling as a counting process
Report a bug (only for logged in users!)Click here to report a bug for this page (MaRDI item Q4556702)
