• Jun Lv, Ping-ping He, Wen-xiao Tu, and Li-ming Li.
• Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing 100083, China.
• Zhonghua Liu Xing Bing Xue Za Zhi. 2008 Jan 1; 29 (1): 78-80.

IntroductionTo clarify the necessity of applying appropriate statistical methods to calculate sampling error from data of cluster sample survey, we take a two-stage cluster sample survey developed from a population aged 15 and over as example. We use statistical methods based on the assumption of simple random samples and methods considering complex sample design to analyze our data, respectively. Through comparison, we hope to show the potential effects of using improper statistical methods to estimate sampling error on parameter estimation and hypothesis testing. Using standard error algorithms based on the assumption of simple random samples,the standard errors calculated often underestimate sampling error and the hypothesis testing even gets wrong conclusion. When the statistical methods and statistics package for complex survey data are already available, it is necessary for us to use appropriate methods to analyze and report the sampling errors of data from cluster sample survey.

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