Address-Based Sampling

Address-based sampling (ABS) involves the selection of a random sample of addresses from a frame listing of residential addresses. The technique was developed in response to concerns about random-digit dialed (RDD) telephone surveys conducted in the United States because of declining landline frame coverage brought on by an increase in cell phone only households and diminishing geographic specificity as a result of telephone number portability. The development and maintenance of large, computerized address databases can provide researchers with a relatively inexpensive alternative to RDD for drawing household samples. In the United States, address files made available by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) contain all delivery addresses serviced by the USPS, with the exception of general delivery. Each delivery point is a separate record that conforms ...