Leslie Kish

Leslie Kish formulated, among other things, the "margin of error," an assessment of the accuracy of opinion polls. He was elected president of the American Statistical Association; and was a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; the American Association for the Advancement of Science; and the Royal Statistical Society of England. A co-founder of the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan and of the International Association of Survey Statisticians, Kish was at once a remarkable teacher, thinker, and leader in the field of survey statistics. This volume collects, for the first time, Kish's most important papers. Foreword—Dr. Xavier Charoy, President IASS.

Preface—Rhea Kish.

ROLE OF PROBABILITY SAMPLING IN SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH.

The Hundred Years' Wars of Survey Sampling (1995).

Some Statistical Problems in Research Design (1959).

APPLIED SAMPLING METHODS.

A Procedure for Objective Respondent Selection Within the Household (1949).

Controlled Selection—A Technique in Probability Sampling (1950).

Sampling Organizations and Groups of Unequal Sizes (1965).

Retaining Units After Changing Strata and Probabilities (1971).

Multivariate and Multipurpose Stratification (1978).

ISSUES IN INFERENCE FROM SURVEY DATA.

Inference From Complex Samples (1974).

Methods for Design Effects (1995).

Weighting for Unequal P_i (1992).

NONSAMPLING ERRORS.

Response Errors in Estimating the Value of Homes (1954).

Studies of Interviewer Variance for Attitudinal Variables (1962).

DOMAIN ESTIMATION.

Multipurpose Sample Designs.

Postcensal Estimates for Local Areas (or Domains) (1980).

Cum ulating/Combining Population Surveys (1999).

PROFESSIONAL LEADERSHIP AND TRAINING.

Chance, Statistics and Statisticians (1978).

Developing Samplers for Developing Countries (1996).

References.

Index.

“…bringing together a lifetime of research and practice, this volume is both a fitting tribute…and a highly useful…compilation of insight into the art and science of survey statistics…” (Zentralbaltt MATH, June 2005)

“...collects, for the first time, the most important and influential papers by Leslie Kish...the editors have been immensely successful in bringing out this volume which will find a place on the bookshelf of every serious reader in the field.” (Mathematical Reviews, 2004c)

LESLIE KISH was a professor emeritus and senior research scientist emeritus of the Institute of Social Research at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

GRAHAM KALTON is a Senior Vice President at Westat, a survey research organization outside Washington, DC.

STEVEN HEERINGA is the Director of the Statistical Design Unit in the Survey Research Center at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

A landmark selection of the master statistician’s best work

"Leslie Kish’s major contributions to the practice of survey sampling have improved the rigor and quality of sample surveys throughout the world. The way Kish thought about problems is perhaps even more important than his many methodological contributions: he invariably started with a practical problem and found solutions of broad applicability."
–Ivan Fellegi, Chief Statistician of Canada

Leslie Kish, who passed away in October 2000, was one of the founding fathers of survey sampling. His 1965 book, Survey Sampling (published by Wiley), remains a classic in the field. A co-founder of the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan and of the International Association of Survey Statisticians, Kish was at once a remarkable teacher, thinker, and leader in the field of survey statistics.

This volume collects, for the first time, Kish’s most important papers. The seventeen articles cover wide-ranging topics–theoretical, practical, and philosophical–from the role of probability sampling in scientific research to his ideas on professional leadership and training of statisticians. Bringing together a lifetime of research and practice, Leslie Kish: Selected Papers is both a fitting tribute to the genius of the man and a highly useful, one-volume compilation of insight into the art and science of survey statistics.