Survey Weighting Best Practices
Essential guidelines for implementing effective weighting in survey research.
Pro Tip
Weighting decisions should be made before data collection begins, not as an afterthought during analysis.
Implementation Steps
1
Planning for Weighting
Effective weighting starts during survey design. Consider what auxiliary variables you'll need and ensure you collect the necessary demographic information.
Demographics
Target Population
Auxiliary Variables
2
Quality Control
Monitor weight distributions, effective sample sizes, and design effects to ensure your weighting scheme is improving rather than degrading data quality.
Weight Range
Effective Sample Size
Design Effect
3
Documentation Standards
Proper documentation of your weighting methodology is essential for transparency and reproducibility in research.
Methodology
Target Sources
Quality Metrics
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
- Using too many weighting variables (leads to unstable weights)
- Ignoring extreme weight values (can distort results)
- Failing to validate weights against external benchmarks
- Not documenting weighting decisions and rationale
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