Abstract

Conducted annually since 2005, the NIC.br ICT Households Survey (ICTHS) aims to measure ICT access and usage in urban and rural households in Brazil, covering individuals 10 years old or older. We have just completed redesigning the sample for this survey aiming for the 2026 survey round. The redesign was motivated by the need to incorporate the updated sampling frame provided by the Brazilian Population Census 2022. As part of the redesign, we used some optimization techniques to form Primary Sampling Units (PSUs) by combining Census Enumeration Areas (CEAs), the most detailed areas for which the Census provided some socioeconomic information. The design is a stratified three stage cluster sample, with PSUs stratified by geography and average income of heads of households in the PSU. Optimization methods were also used to stratify the PSUs according to the stratification variable within each geographic stratum. Sampling of PSUs and of CEAs within PSUs that have three or more CEAs was carried out using Pareto PPS Sampling. Sampling of households within each PSU or CEA is by simple random sampling without replacement. Some challenges faced during the design and how they were overcome with some of the design solutions adopted will be discussed.