On the bias of the multiple-imputation variance estimator in survey sampling

Abstract

Multiple imputation is a method of estimating the variances of estimators that are constructed with some imputed data. We give an expression for the bias of the multiple-imputation variance estimator for data that are collected with a complex sample design. The bias may be sizable for certain estimators, such as domain means, when a large fraction of the values are imputed. A bias-adjusted variance estimator is suggested. © 2006 Royal Statistical Society.