Variance Estimation for the Regression Imputed Horvitz-Thompson Estimator

Imputation has found widespread use in surveys with missing data but can lead to incorrect inferences, e.g., invalid confidence intervals, unless care is exercised. This paper develops a procedure for valid variance estimation in surveys where regression imputation is used for the missing values. Th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of official statistics 1994-12, Vol.10 (4), p.381
Main Authors: Deville, Jean-Claude, Särndal, Carl-Erik
Format: Article
Language:English
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Imputation has found widespread use in surveys with missing data but can lead to incorrect inferences, e.g., invalid confidence intervals, unless care is exercised. This paper develops a procedure for valid variance estimation in surveys where regression imputation is used for the missing values. The imputed values are derived from the fit of a multiple regression model, with a multivariate auxiliary variable as predictor. Features of this new procedure are: (i) it is based on single value imputation (as opposed to the computationally more demanding multiple imputation); (ii) the variance estimation is valid for an arbitrary probability sampling design and for an arbitrary response mechanism of the unconfounded type; and (iii) the calculation of the variance estimate can be carried out with the standard formulas programmed in the existing computer packages for survey data.
ISSN:0282-423X
2001-7367