Authored by Dr. Deming and T. Nelson Grice, this article illustrates how stratified sampling and ratio-estimates may increase the efficiency of a sampling procedure under appropriate conditions. They include the sample design, sampling procedure, why direct confirmation was not practicable, other auditing procedures possible, advantages of the statistical method, and gains from the ratio estimate.

This six page article is reprinted from Management Accounting, March 1970.

A study will be conducted to estimate the overall proportion of people that are affected with some defined psychopathology. The final determination of the psychiatric and other medical characteristics of a person will be made by a psychiatrist. A plan to use the services of trained interviewers to screen and separate into two classes (with and without apparent psychopathology) a large preliminary sample in order to conserve the time of the psychiatrist, by letting him test mainly cases that are almost surely afflicted with psychopathology, is appealing wherever the cost per case is much lower for the screening than for the psychiatric examination. It is not generally appreciated, however, that the screening-test, to be economical, must be relatively cheap and must admit only a low proportion of false negatives. This principle is not new, but illustrative calculations that show how false negatives affect costs, and why false positives are not so important, are hard to find in the literature. The purpose here is to present some theory and a simple illustration.

This eight-page article was prompted by Dr. Deming’s work on a number of studies that required use and extension of the theory presented here. It was published in International Statistical Review, 45 (1977) 29-37.

Dr. Deming, as a practicing statistician, wanted to make clear the relationship between consultant and client, so there would be no questions about who was responsible for what. After discussion of the aim of his client engagements, Dr. Deming details the obligations of the client, and the obligations of the statistician to the client. Additional direction is given about interpretation of the results, and the statistical report or testimony related thereto. A section on fees and another on proprietary rights in statistical procedures are also included.

“Code of Professional Conduct” appeared in the International Statistical Review, vol.40, Aug. 1972: pp.215-219. It is a revision of a paper by the same title that he had written six years earlier.