Small Area Estimation

Biography
Ralph Folsom, PhD and Chief Scientist for Statistical, Survey, and Computing Sciences at RTI, is an expert in the design and analysis of complex probability samples. Working on the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), Dr. Folsom initiated innovative weight adjustment methods based on his logistic response propensity and exponential poststratification models. Dr. Folsom also introduced model-based imputations for missing frequency of use and income data items, and he has been an influential collaborator in the development of NSDUH’s current Predictive Mean Neighborhoods (PMN) imputation methodology. Dr. Folsom has made significant contributions to the development of RTI’s computer software for survey data analysis, SUDAAN. These contributions include sample design-based modes of estimation and inference for linear and logistic regression coefficients. Read More…

Biography
Roy Whitmore, PhD, is a senior statistician who joined RTI in 1980. He is expert in design and analysis of complex sample surveys. His primary areas of application have been human exposure assessment surveys and postsecondary education studies. He recently was principal investigator for an EPA STAR grant that developed a data collection platform for human exposure-related behaviors, including time/activity/location/exertion-level data, dietary data, and data on use of consumer products. He was sampling task leader for such high-visibility EPA studies as the EPA Region 5 field test of the National Human Exposure Assessment Survey. He has served as task leader for sampling, weighting, imputation, and reporting for several postsecondary education surveys for the National Center for Education Statistics. He has published in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology, Environmental Health Perspectives, Environmental Science and Technology, Atmospheric Environment, Journal of Official Statistics, and Journal of the American Statistical Association. Read More…