Recent Advances on Estimating Population Size with Link-Tracing Sampling

Abstract

A new approach to estimate population size based on a stratified link-tracing sampling design is presented. The method extends on the Frank and Snijders (1994) approach by allowing for heterogeneity in the initial sample selection procedure. Rao-Blackwell estimators and corresponding resampling approximations similar to that detailed in Vincent and Thompson (2017) are explored. An empirical application is provided for a hard-to-reach networked population. The results demonstrate that the approach has much potential for application to such populations. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.