Statistical investigations of farm sample surveys taken in Iowa, Florida and California

The object of this bulletin is to present results of statistical analyses of data from recent sample surveys of agricultural areas and to offer some comments on the sampling procedures followed. The surveys described herein were made in widely differing farming areas: In all of the 99 counties of Iowa, in 26 of the 67 counties in Florida, and in 9 of the 58 counties of California. Except for Iowa (3) these surveys were pioneering a sampling method in their respective areas. In order to observe the way in which this method behaved in different parts of the country we have brought the findings together under one cover

Pre-harvest sampling of soybeans for yield and quality

The route-sampling method of estimating crop production has been extended to soybeans in a preliminary survey which is reported here. In 1941, just prior to harvest, 67 fields in eight east central Illinois counties were sampled for yield, percent protein, percent oil and iodine number of the oil. Protein percent, oil percent and iodine number of the oil can be estimated satisfactorily, but estimating yield is more uncertain pending the accumulation of information on adjusting for harvesting losses and other factors which cause the sample average yield to be too large. The yield of seed per acre differed with the method of planting (width of rows), indicating for the season studied that soybeans should have been planted in rows about 2 feet apart. The iodine number of the oil was lower for fields with wide rows than for drilled fields. This was attributed to difference in date of planting rather than method of planting. It was concluded that two subsampling units should be taken per field and that the optimum size of subsampling unit is approximately 7 square feet. Other investigations have shown that after the pods are fully distended there is little or no change in yield or chemical composition, indicating that production and quality can be estimated well in advance of harvest

Sampling Methods in Marketing Research

Such keen interest was created by the papers presented by this author before the annual meeting of The Association of Southern Agricultural Workers at Biloxi, Mississippi, last February, and before a meeting later that month which was sponsored by the Committee on Experimental Design in the United States Department of Agriculture, that the editors asked for the content of them to give to the readers of this magazine

The Survey As A Measurement Instrument

Cost-benefit ratios for surveys are related to the congruence between objectives and survey measurement capabilities. A high degree of congruence requires careful matching of objectives and survey design. Thus, emphasis is placed on survey planning and improvement of relationships between survey designs and objectives. The degree of congruence has a significant effect on the efficiency of research and the interpretations and value of results

Statistical Treatment of the Nonresponse Problem

Given a sample--that is, a specified selection of individuals from whom specified information is desired--two questions immediately arise: How much effort should be spent toward getting complete coverage of all individuals in the sample? What methods can be used to adjust for non response, and how successful are such methods? Although only partial answers to the nonresponse problem can be given, this review of techniques and the presentation of a few concepts and results relating to the nonresponse problem should be helpful, particularly to persons who are planning surveys

Designs of Samples for Surveys

In this discussion the author deals with the most frequent questions that come to him, as statistical consultant at BAE, relative to designing samples for social science surveys. Although he draws heavily on the recent developments in sampling theory, he presents this material in a non-mathematical language

Measurement of Sales of Apples in Retail Stores

The relative merits of different methods of measuring volume of retail sales of particular commodities has been a debated subject in recent years. As a byproduct of an experiment in retail store merchandising, a direct comparison of some alternative methods is made in this paper, a matter of importance, we believe, to persons interested in the measurement of retail sales