Designing Some Multi-Factor Analytical Studies

The designing of some multi-factor “analytical” studies of survey data is considered in this paper. It is assumed that, for each factor, there are two categories of interest and these are to be compared. The main objective is to allocate the sample so that the desired precision for the specified contrasts is obtained at minimum cost. It is assumed that one may sample independently in each of the sub-populations under investigation. A model is employed to facilitate designing and analyzing such a survey. We discuss the relevance of this model for “analytical studies,” and a few examples are presented. Several survey objectives are explored, and an optimal allocation is obtained for each. Two, three and four-factor studies are considered explicitly.