Sequential Spatially Balanced Sampling

Sequential sampling occurs when the entire population is not known in advance and data are obtained one at a time or in groups of units. This manuscript proposes a new algorithm to sequentially select a balanced sample. The algorithm respects equal and unequal inclusion probabilities. The method can also be used to select a spatially balanced sample if the population of interest contains spatial coordinates. A simulation study is proposed on a dataset of Swiss municipalities. The results show that the proposed method outperforms other methods.