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5. Sampling and Estimation in Hidden Populations Using Respondent-Driven Sampling

Salganik, Matthew J., Heckathorn, Douglas D.·2004·Sociological Methodology

Abstract

Standard statistical methods often provide no way to make accurate estimates about the characteristics of hidden populations such as injection drug users, the homeless, and artists. In this paper, we further develop a sampling and estimation technique called respondent-driven sampling, which allows researchers to make asymptotically unbiased estimates about these hidden populations. The sample is selected with a snowball-type design that can be done more cheaply, quickly, and easily than other methods currently in use. Further, we can show that under certain specified (and quite general) conditions, our estimates for the percentage of the population with a specific trait are asymptotically unbiased. We further show that these estimates are asymptotically unbiased no matter how the seeds are selected. We conclude with a comparison of respondent-driven samples of jazz musicians in New York and San Francisco, with corresponding institutional samples of jazz musicians from these cities. The results show that some standard methods for studying hidden populations can produce misleading results.

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Metadata

Authors
Salganik, M. J., & Heckathorn, D. D.
Venue
Sociological Methodology
Published
2004-12
Volume
34
Issue
1
Pages
193-240
ISSN
  • 0081-1750 (ISSN-L)
  • 1467-9531
OpenAlex
W2117740169
Cited by
1,953
References
2
FWCI
24.28
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: 5. Sampling and Estimation in Hidden Populations Using Respondent-Driven Sampling. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1111/j.0081-1750.2004.00152.x
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Salganik, M. J., & Heckathorn, D. D. (2004). 5. Sampling and Estimation in Hidden Populations Using Respondent-Driven Sampling. Sociological Methodology. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0081-1750.2004.00152.x

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