A Discussion of Weighting Procedures for Unit Nonresponse

Weighting procedures are commonly applied in surveys to compensate for nonsampling errors such as nonresponse errors and coverage errors. Two types of weight-adjustment procedures are commonly used in the context of unit nonresponse: (i) nonresponse propensity weighting followed by calibration, also known as the two-step approach and (ii) nonresponse calibration weighting, also known as the one-step approach. In this article, we discuss both approaches and warn against the potential pitfalls of the one-step procedure. Results from a simulation study, evaluating the properties of several point estimators, are presented.