We are pleased to announce our upcoming webinar in October 2025. Dr. Yanghyeon Cho from University of Idaho will give a talk at 3pm (ET) on October 29 (Wednesday). Please use the link below to register for the KISS webinar. The webinar title and abstract are as follows.
Date/Time: 3pm – 4pm ET (2pm – 3pm CT; 12pm – 1pm PT) on October 29
Registration link:
https://yonsei.zoom.us/meeting/register/A0pDOY2oQKy_R0ekgTG3Fg
If the link does not open when clicked, please copy and paste it into your browser’s address bar.
Registration is required for this meeting. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Speaker: Yanghyeon Cho from University of Idaho.
Title: A Unified Framework for Small Area Estimation: From Optimal Prediction to Error Assessment
Abstract: Small area estimation (SAE) faces two significant challenges: (i) accounting for informative sampling designs, in which the sample selection mechanism depends on the outcome variable even after conditioning on auxiliary variables, and (ii) handling general small area parameters that are nonlinear functions of the model response variable. We develop a unified SAE procedure by integrating the informative-sampling framework of Pfeffermann and Sverchkov (2007) with the simulation-based empirical best method of Molina and Rao (2010) for general small area parameters. Alongside prediction, we also address the challenge of error assessment. Specifically, we propose a parametric bootstrap estimator of mean squared error (MSE) that is theoretically valid under informative sampling, and we construct calibrated prediction intervals that rely less on normality assumptions than standard intervals. The proposed procedure thus provides both optimal prediction and rigorous uncertainty quantification for general small area parameters. Extensive simulation studies confirm the validity of the methods, and an application to predicting multiple functions of sheet and rill erosion for Iowa counties using data from a complex agricultural survey demonstrates their practical utility.
I am looking forward to seeing you all!
Best,
Jeong Hoon Jang
KISS Program Chair Elect