The Network Scale-up Method (NSUM) is a method to estimate hard-to-reach populations based on indirect surveys. Unlike the classical surveys, this method uses the number of acquaintances that belong to some groups. This preserves privacy and may lead to higher participation. For these reasons, the NSUM has been consistently used by organizations as the UNAIDS. During the last thirty years, new variations of the method have emerged. However, some conditions related with the design of the surveys and the robustness of the estimators have not been studied in depth, especially for the majority of the methods. In this talk, we present a comparison of the methods based on simulations that sheds light on survey design and the performance under certain topologies and biases.

About Sergio Díaz

Sergio Díaz is a PhD. Student in the Global Computing Group at IMDEA Networks Institute in Madrid, Spain. He holds a BSc MSc degree in Mathematics from the Complutense University of Madrid, and a MSc degree in Statistical-Treatment of Information from the Complutense University of Madrid and the Polytechnic University of Madrid. His research is focused on extracting social information though network data from indirect surveys.

This event will be conducted in English