Sampling /

A unique book treating sampling methods and techniques for populations that are difficult to sample because they may be clustered, rare, elusive, or simply hard to detect. Thompson names several examples such as "predicting the amount of mineral or fossil-fuel resources at a new site, the prevalence of a rare disease, or estimating the abundance of an animal or an elusive human population." An excellent manual for researchers who have worked in these areas and have confronted such problems. Basic and standard sampling designs are covered. In addition, Thompson effectively incorporates the use of several recent developments in sampling such as adaptive sampling designs, network sampling, and generalized ratio and regression estimation with unequal probability designs. There are also several sampling methodologies developed for specific areas, such as detectability methods that are used in ecological sampling; kriging methods that are associated with geostatistics; and network sampling associated with the health sciences. Numerous references are cited throughout. Highly recommended for undergraduate and graduate libraries. D. J. Gougeon; University of Scranton