Testing the Shadow Sample Approach for the English House Condition Survey

Abstract

The English House Condition Survey (EHCS) moved to a continuous field work design in 2002. This provided an opportunity to explore new ways of obtaining a sample of dwellings that meets ODPM's requirements to over-represent certain (rare) groups defined in terms of housing tenure and age of property. An experiment was carried out, collecting data in a number of alternative ways in the course of the field work for the Survey of English Housing. This report discusses the feasibility of using those data as the basis of sample selection for the EHCS.