Skip to main content

William D. Kalsbeek is a Fellow Emeritus at the Carolina Population Center.

William D. Kalsbeek, PhD is Professor of Biostatistics, as well as Emeritus Director of the Survey Research Unit (recently renamed the "Carolina Survey Research Laboratory"), at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A fellow of the American Statistical Association, his professional interests include, but are not limited to the practice, teaching, and study of health survey research methods, with particular emphasis on the joint roles of costs and statistical efficacy in sample design and survey nonresponse. Most recently his research interests have included statistical issues arising in the design of rare and elusive population subgroups. The origin of these interests stems from his broad exposure to survey practice through the dozens of sample surveys for which he has provided the direction, sample design, or significant statistical consultation during his professional career. His research interests also include response propensity estimation for the purpose of measuring and controlling the biasing effects of nonresponse in population-based surveys. In addition to having designed samples for over 70 national, state, and local surveys, he has served as advisor or consultant to many of the major national survey data systems in the U.S. He was also a member for six years of the National Academy of Science's Committee on National Statistics. In addition to his domestic work in survey statistics, he has designed samples for many international health surveys, including those in Indonesia, Puerto Rico, Somalia, Jordan, Egypt, Honduras, and the Russian Republic. Most recently he has served as the senior survey research methods advisor and lead sampling statistician for the Global Adult Tobacco Survey system which to date has involved conducting large computer-assisted in-person household sample surveys in over 20 countries around the world.