The book is organized in a way that emphasizes both the theory and
applications of the various variance estimating techniques. Each
technique is presented in a separate chapter, and each chapter divided
into several main sections. The opening sections deal with the theory
and motivation for the particular method of variance estimation. Results
are often presented in the form of theorems; proofs are deleted when
trivial or when a reference is readily available. The latter sections of
each chapter present numerical examples where the particular technique
was applied (and perhaps modified) to a real survey. The objectives of
this organization format are to provide the student with a firm
technical understanding of the methods of variance estimation; to
stimulate further research on the various techniques, particularly as
they apply to large, complex surveys; and to provide an easy reference
for the survey researcher who is faced with the problem of estimating
variances for real survey data.