Complex Survey Data Analysis with SAS

Complex Survey Data Analysis with SAS® is an invaluable resource for applied researchers analyzing data generated from a sample design involving any combination of stratification, clustering, unequal weights, or finite population correction factors. After clearly explaining how the presence of these features can invalidate the assumptions underlying most traditional statistical techniques, this book equips readers with the knowledge to confidently account for them during the estimation and inference process by employing the SURVEY family of SAS/STAT® procedures. The book offers comprehensive coverage of the most essential topics, including: Drawing random samples Descriptive statistics for continuous and categorical variables Fitting and interpreting linear and logistic regression models Survival analysis Domain estimation Replication variance estimation methods Weight adjustment and imputation methods for handling missing data The easy-to-follow examples are drawn from real-world survey data sets spanning multiple disciplines, all of which can be downloaded for free along with syntax files from the author’s website: http://mason.gmu.edu/~tlewis18/. While other books may touch on some of the same issues and nuances of complex survey data analysis, none features SAS exclusively and as exhaustively. Another unique aspect of this book is its abundance of handy workarounds for certain techniques not yet supported as of SAS Version 9.4, such as the ratio estimator for a total and the bootstrap for variance estimation. Taylor H. Lewis is a PhD graduate of the Joint Program in Survey Methodology at the University of Maryland, College Park, and an adjunct professor in the George Mason University Department of Statistics. An avid SAS user for 15 years, he is a SAS Certified Advanced programmer and a nationally recognized SAS educator who has produced dozens of papers and workshops illustrating how to efficiently and effectively conduct statistical analyses using SAS.

Table of Contents:
Features and Examples of Complex Surveys Introduction Definitions and Terminology of Sample Surveys Overview of SAS/STAT Procedures Available to Analyze Survey Data Four Features of Complex Surveys Examples of Complex Surveys Summary Drawing Random Samples Using PROC SURVEYSELECTIntroduction Fundamental Sampling Techniques Statified Sampling Cluster Sampling Summary Analyzing Continuous Variables Using PROC SURVEYMEANS Introduction Totals Means Ratios Quantiles Summary Analyzing Categorical Variables Using PROC SURVEYFREQ Introduction Univariate Analyses Bivariate Analyses Multiway Tables Summary Fitting Linear Refression Models Using PROC SURVEYREG Introduction Linear Regression in a Simple Random Sampling Setting Linear Regression with Complex Survey Data Testing for a Reduced Model Computing Unit-Level Statistics Summary Fitting Logistic Regression Models Using PROC SURVERYLOGISTIC Introduction Logistic Regression in a Simple Random Sampling Setting Logistic Regression with Complex Survey Data Testing for a Reduced Model and Adequate Model Fit Computing Unit-Level Statistics Customizing Odds Ratios Extensions for Modeling Variables with More than Two Outcomes Summary Survival Analysis with Complex Survey Data Introduction foundations of Survival Analysis Survival Analysis with Complex Survey Data Summary Domain Estimation Introduction Definitions and an Example Data Set Risk in Subsetting a Complex Survey Data Set Domain Estimation using Domain-Specific Weights Domain Estimation for Alternative Statistics Significance Testing for Domain Mean Differences Degress of Freedom Adjustments Summary Replication Techniques for Variance Estimation Introduction More Details Regarding Taylor Series Linearization Balanced Repeated Replication Fay's Variant to BRR Jackknife Bootstrap Replication with Liner Models Replication as a Tool for Estimating Variances of Complex Point Estimates Degrees of Freedom Adjustments Summary Weight Adjustment MethodsIntroduction Definitions and Missing Data Assumptions Adjustment Cell Method Propensity Cell Method Poststratification Raking Summary Imputation Methods Introduction Definitions and a Brief Taxonomy of Imputation Techniques Multiple Imputation as a Way to Incorporate Missing Data Uncertainty Univariate Missingness Multivariate Missingness Inferences from Multiply Imputed Data Accounting for Features of the Complex Survey Data during the Imputation Modeling and Analysis Stages Summary References Index

About the Author :
Taylor H. Lewis

Review :
... Complex Survey Data Analysis with SAS is a very clear and concise reference for practitioners, students, and researchers who are interested in learning how to analyze data from complex surveys using the SAS statistical environment. The prominent feature of the text is its very clear exposition of concepts in survey statistics combined with implementation code. The author uses clear language, intuitive graphics, contrasts, and real examples to achieve this goal. Although the book is posed primarily as a handbook for SAS (as the titles of the chapters suggest), it nevertheless presents the concepts so clearly that it can also be regarded as an introduction to complex survey analysis. … SAS code to demonstrate analysis of complex survey data is fully reproduced and clearly annotated in the text together with the output. The author makes a fascinating job in clearly walking the reader through the code and interpreting the results. This feature makes the book an indispensable resource for self-learners and practitioners who need a handy reference for using SAS in complex survey analysis. … Overall, this is a well-structured and practical desk-side reference for students, practitioners, and self-learners who are interested in performing different data analyses on complex survey data using the SAS statistical software." —Abdolvahab Khademi, University of Massachusetts, in the Journal of Statistical Software, April 2018 "…. Lewis has adopted a slightly different approach by illustrating survey design effects with SAS codes and shifting more technical topics on variance estimation and weight adjustment toward the end of the book. I found Chapter 2 particularly refreshing as popular sampling techniques (e.g., probability proportional to size sampling, stratified sampling, and cluster sampling), which are common in population-based surveys, are demystified through computer codes. Throughout the book, SAS codes are presented in a self-contained manner, numbered consecutively with self-explained titles … This approach makes it easier for readers to practice working examples and to adapt the codes to their own work. … Complex Survey Data Analysis with SAS is a welcome addition to the few textbooks and desk-side references that not only introduce the key concepts underlying complex survey data, but also demonstrate practical analysis using modern software packages. Applied data analysts will find the discussions of statistical theories accessible. SAS users will certainly appreciate its systematic survey of existing procedures and will get a copy as a handy desk-side reference just as the author intended …" —Hongwei Xu, University of Michigan, in The American Statistician, April 2018 "… many researchers who encounter more complex surveys are challenged with identifying the right design and finding a program to carry out the data analysis. This book nicely fills that gap. It provides some statistical reasoning and outlines some mathematical procedures but does not go into much detail and can be read by someone without advanced training in mathematical statistics. … Throughout the book and for each method, the author provides detailed information on how to implement the procedures in SAS, the SAS code and also motivation. The book can be used by a reader with little knowledge of the mathematical details of survey sampling in general and complex surveys in particular. It does require some understanding of clustering and stratification. It is helpful, though not necessary for successfully using the techniques presented to have some understanding of calculus such as Taylor series approximation. Some basic knowledge of statistical inference is also required. It is a very useful book for planning and implementing a complex survey and analyzing the data from such a survey. … It will be a useful reference and additional resource in a statistics course on survey sampling ..." —Christiana Drake, ISCB News, May 2017 "This book is very well written and includes a wealth of theoretical and practical information. It hits the mark on the explanation of concepts and statistics in that it is readable without being too simple or advanced. It will be an excellent resource, especially for SAS users." —Patricia Berglund, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan "Building from simple motivating examples to real-world data sets and analyses, this book clearly demonstrates SAS's suite of survey analysis commands. Lewis explains why special commands are needed when working with survey data, how to run the code in SAS, and how to interpret the output. This book will be useful to many, in particular to researchers who have a basic knowledge of SAS and statistics but are new to analysis of survey data." —Stephanie Eckman, Ph.D, Fellow at RTI International "This book is an outstanding, practical handbook presenting thorough examples of the use of specialized procedures in the SAS/STAT software for dealing with all aspects of complex samples, from sample design and selection to the analysis of complex sample survey data. Applied statisticians, survey researchers, and analysts of survey data collected from large, complex samples in applied fields, such as epidemiology and public health, will find this book to be a tremendous and essential resource on the use of SAS for managing and analyzing these types of data sets…Overall, I would highly recommend this excellent new resource for any researchers selecting complex samples and analyzing complex sample survey data using the SAS system." —Brady T. West, Survey Research Center, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor ... Complex Survey Data Analysis with SAS is a very clear and concise reference for practitioners, students, and researchers who are interested in learning how to analyze data from complex surveys using the SAS statistical environment. The prominent feature of the text is its very clear exposition of concepts in survey statistics combined with implementation code. The author uses clear language, intuitive graphics, contrasts, and real examples to achieve this goal. Although the book is posed primarily as a handbook for SAS (as the titles of the chapters suggest), it nevertheless presents the concepts so clearly that it can also be regarded as an introduction to complex survey analysis. … SAS code to demonstrate analysis of complex survey data is fully reproduced and clearly annotated in the text together with the output. The author makes a fascinating job in clearly walking the reader through the code and interpreting the results. This feature makes the book an indispensable resource for self-learners and practitioners who need a handy reference for using SAS in complex survey analysis. … Overall, this is a well-structured and practical desk-side reference for students, practitioners, and self-learners who are interested in performing different data analyses on complex survey data using the SAS statistical software." —Abdolvahab Khademi, University of Massachusetts, in the Journal of Statistical Software, April 2018 "…. Lewis has adopted a slightly different approach by illustrating survey design effects with SAS codes and shifting more technical topics on variance estimation and weight adjustment toward the end of the book. I found Chapter 2 particularly refreshing as popular sampling techniques (e.g., probability proportional to size sampling, stratified sampling, and cluster sampling), which are common in population-based surveys, are demystified through computer codes. Throughout the book, SAS codes are presented in a self-contained manner, numbered consecutively with self-explained titles … This approach makes it easier for readers to practice working examples and to adapt the codes to their own work. … Complex Survey Data Analysis with SAS is a welcome addition to the few textbooks and desk-side references that not only introduce the key concepts underlying complex survey data, but also demonstrate practical analysis using modern software packages. Applied data analysts will find the discussions of statistical theories accessible. SAS users will certainly appreciate its systematic survey of existing procedures and will get a copy as a handy desk-side reference just as the author intended …" —Hongwei Xu, University of Michigan, in The American Statistician, April 2018 "… many researchers who encounter more complex surveys are challenged with identifying the right design and finding a program to carry out the data analysis. This book nicely fills that gap. It provides some statistical reasoning and outlines some mathematical procedures but does not go into much detail and can be read by someone without advanced training in mathematical statistics. … Throughout the book and for each method, the author provides detailed information on how to implement the procedures in SAS, the SAS code and also motivation. The book can be used by a reader with little knowledge of the mathematical details of survey sampling in general and complex surveys in particular. It does require some understanding of clustering and stratification. It is helpful, though not necessary for successfully using the techniques presented to have some understanding of calculus such as Taylor series approximation. Some basic knowledge of statistical inference is also required. It is a very useful book for planning and implementing a complex survey and analyzing the data from such a survey. … It will be a useful reference and additional resource in a statistics course on survey sampling ..." —Christiana Drake, ISCB News, May 2017 "This book is very well written and includes a wealth of theoretical and practical information. It hits the mark on the explanation of concepts and statistics in that it is readable without being too simple or advanced. It will be an excellent resource, especially for SAS users." —Patricia Berglund, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan "Building from simple motivating examples to real-world data sets and analyses, this book clearly demonstrates SAS's suite of survey analysis commands. Lewis explains why special commands are needed when working with survey data, how to run the code in SAS, and how to interpret the output. This book will be useful to many, in particular to researchers who have a basic knowledge of SAS and statistics but are new to analysis of survey data." —Stephanie Eckman, Ph.D, Fellow at RTI International "This book is an outstanding, practical handbook presenting thorough examples of the use of specialized procedures in the SAS/STAT software for dealing with all aspects of complex samples, from sample design and selection to the analysis of complex sample survey data. Applied statisticians, survey researchers, and analysts of survey data collected from large, complex samples in applied fields, such as epidemiology and public health, will find this book to be a tremendous and essential resource on the use of SAS for managing and analyzing these types of data sets…Overall, I would highly recommend this excellent new resource for any researchers selecting complex samples and analyzing complex sample survey data using the SAS system." —Brady T. West, Survey Research Center, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor