Projects

Project Overview

The Census Bureau conducts the American Housing Survey (AHS) for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) every 2 years to measure specific characteristics of the housing stock of the United States. The survey was first conducted in 1973. With the inclusion of both a national sample and a metropolitan sample, policymakers and analysts use the data to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of federal housing programs that target various population groups.

Insight provides statistical research support services to the Census Bureau to—

• Develop new methodologies in support of transition to a new survey design.
• Develop and evaluate variance estimation methods.
• Calculate replicate weights for both non-self-representing and self-representing AHS sample.
• Calculate replicate weights for the 2015 AHS sample.
• Develop methodology to detect “breaks-in-series” (significant changes) in key AHS estimates resulting from the AHS design change between 2013 and 2015.
• Calculate replicate weights for the 2013–2015 overlap sample.
• Develop methodology and SAS code to calculate longitudinal weights and replicate longitudinal weights for the 1985–2013 AHS design.
• Author a user guide for the longitudinal weighting SAS code.
• Improve the AHS methodology for the imputation of missing data and measure the impact of the improved imputation methodology.

Products

Methodology reports; SAS code; final reports