Inverse Binomial Sampling as a Basis for Estimating Negative Binomial Population Densities

Abstract

SUMMARY A method is proposed for estimating, from inverse binomial samples of presence or absence, the population densities of negative binornially distributed organisms characterized by a known parameter k. The estimator is shown to be the only unbiased, uniformly minimum variance estimator obtainable from inverse binomial samples. A comparison of its cost efficiency with that of conventional sampling indicates that the proposed technique offers a promising, economical alternative whenever direct enumeration is either difficult or impractical.