Use of capture-recapture techniques to estimate population size and population totals when a complete frame is unavailable - ARCHIVED

We present a formal model based sampling solution to the problem of estimating list frame size based on capture-recapture sampling which has been widely used for animal populations and for adjusting the US census. For two incomplete lists it is easy to estimate total frame size using the Lincoln-Petersen estimator. This estimator is model based with a key assumption being independence of the two lists. Once an estimator of the population (frame) size has been obtained it is possible to obtain an estimator of a population total for some characteristic if a sample of units has that characteristic measured. A discussion of the properties of this estimator will be presented. An example where the establishments are fishing boats taking part in an ocean fishery off the Atlantic Coast of the United States is presented. Estimation of frame size and then population totals using a capture-recapture model is likely to have broad application in establishment surveys due to practicality and cost savings but possible biases due to assumption violations need to be considered.