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Sample Design

NORC designs and maintains a multistage sample of geographical areas and a corresponding frame of housing unit addresses for national area probability studies, particularly for the General Social Survey (GSS). With each re-design of this frame, we incorporate innovations such as the Ernst procedure for maximizing the overlap of PSUs and new methods for compiling high quality address lists. In fact, NORC is one of the pioneers in the use of the USPS address list and geographical information systems for sample design and selection. Sampling staff members also use census datasets and special source materials such as directories, lists, and commercial databases to select many types of samples, including special subpopulations and business establishments. For telephone surveys, NORC can generate national, regional, or local samples. NORC staff have expertise in adaptive sampling techniques and audit sampling, as well.

NORC has extensive experience designing and conducting epidemiological studies, site-based studies, list studies, area probability studies, panel studies, longitudinal studies, and cross-sectional studies.

Representative Projects

Annual Survey of Employer Health Benefits, 2011. NORC takes a lead role in the survey and sampling design for this grant, along with data collection, database construction, analysis, and writing of the annual report and journal article. More

Comparing Employer and Non-Group Health Plans Against the Health Reform Benefit Standard. The Commonwealth Fund is sponsoring this project, which builds upon previous research conducted by NORC. This study examines trends in the affordability, actuarial value, and expected out-of-pocket expenses of health insurance in the small group, large group, and individual health insurance markets using 2010 data. More

Effects of Insurance Market Reforms. This project for the Assistant Secretary for Policy and Evaluation (ASPE) in the Department of Health and Human Services aims to document the effect on premiums of the 2010 insurance market reforms required by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). More

MCC Impact Evaluation Services in the Republic of Georgia. The Goal of MCC’s Compact with the Government of Georgia is to reduce rural poverty through better economic performance by improving the two main barriers to economic growth: a lack of reliable infrastructure and the slow development of businesses, particularly agribusiness. More

National Children's Study (NCS). The National Children’s Study will examine the effects of the environment, as broadly defined to include factors such as air, water, diet, sound, family dynamics, community and cultural influences, and genetics on the growth, development, and health of children across the United States, following them from before birth until age 21 years. More

See all Sample Design projects