Determining the optimum strata boundaries with constant cost factor

The aim of survey design is to obtain optimum precision at minimum cost. Stratification is one of the commonly used methods of survey design. When using stratification one of the main problems to consider is the determination of optimum strata boundaries. This paper will discuss how to determine the optimum strata boundaries when the measurement cost per units varies across the strata. The problem is formulated as a mathematical programming problem and solved to obtain the strata width, which is then used to calculate the optimum strata boundaries. A numerical example using exponential study variables is presented to illustrate computational details of the procedure.