{"id":1604,"date":"2025-01-17T17:50:12","date_gmt":"2025-01-17T17:50:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marriott-stats.com\/nigels-blog\/?p=1604"},"modified":"2026-06-06T14:44:45","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T13:44:45","slug":"stats-training-materials-sampling-surveys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marriott-stats.com\/nigels-blog\/stats-training-materials-sampling-surveys\/","title":{"rendered":"Stats Training Materials – Sampling & Surveys"},"content":{"rendered":"

The core expertise that Statisticians offer to the world is drawing conclusions from small samples.\u00a0 Therefore, knowing how to design surveys, estimate the right sample size, decide on the right way to ask the question or measure a property are all essential skills for any statistical thinker.\u00a0 The skills you need to be competent in Sampling & Surveys<\/a> are best captured by my Survey Wheel.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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My Survey Wheel<\/strong> <\/span>has 6<\/strong> Arcs.\"\"<\/p>\n

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  1. Objectives<\/strong><\/span> – What it is that you need to know and from who or what?<\/li>\n
  2. Design<\/span><\/strong> – How to sample & measure your target population.<\/li>\n
  3. Fieldwork<\/span><\/strong> – How to collate, clean & code our data.<\/li>\n
  4. Results<\/strong><\/span> – What are the best charts & tables to summarise our data and what to do with missing data?<\/li>\n
  5. Insight<\/span><\/strong> – What are the key drivers or segments in our data?<\/li>\n
  6. Decisions<\/span><\/strong> – What actions can be taken and is the client capable of doing them?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The reason I call this a Survey Wheel rather than a survey line is that my 35+<\/strong> years experience of advising clients on sampling has taught me the starting point of any sampling project can be any one of these arcs.\u00a0 As a result, the other five arcs have to adapt to the requirements of the starting arc in order to prevent the wheel from breaking.<\/p>\n

    To learn more about my Survey Wheel, why not download this 7-page PDF document “The 6 Arcs of the Survey Wheel<\/a><\/em>“?<\/strong> Should you engage me as a consultant to work on your survey or sampling project, you will find me following much of what is described in this document.<\/p>\n

    Alternatively, listen to me explain my Survey Wheel in this 50 minute webinar<\/strong><\/a> produced in collaboration with Captive Health in 2015.\u00a0 In this webinar, I focus on many of the common mistakes that people make in designing surveys and samples.<\/p>\n

    Below is a list of various materials which you can use to learn more about Surveys & Sampling.\u00a0 I have organised these by the 6 Arcs of my Survey Wheel which are colour coded.\u00a0 Red headings<\/strong><\/span> are the most statistically advanced arcs where serious statistical thinking is needed.\u00a0 Green arcs<\/span><\/strong> are more straightforward computational tasks that can be automated in some cases.\u00a0 Blue headings<\/strong><\/span> require softer skills in consulting, facilitation and elicitation but statisticians still have much to offer in these arcs.<\/p>\n

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    A. Objectives<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

    There are 2 parts to the Objectives<\/strong><\/span> arc:<\/p>\n

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    1. What do I need to know? (Goals)<\/strong><\/span>\n