• The Korean Journal of Applied Statistics
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.1217-1225
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• 2015

Survey research, data is commonly collected through a sample design with complex design features that allow the relative efficiency on the precision of an estimator to be measured using the concept of the design effect compared to simple random sampling as a reference design. This concept is most useful when the design effect can be expressed as a function of various design features. We propose a design effect formula suitable under a stratified multistage sampling by generalizing Gabler et al. (1999, 2006)'s approaches for multistage sampling. Its use can either guide improvement in the design efficiency when in design stage or enable the evaluation of the adopted design features afterwards.