Using ranked set sampling with extreme ranks in estimating the population proportion.

This article studies the properties of the maximum likelihood estimator of the population proportion in ranked set sampling with extreme ranks. The maximum likelihood estimator is described and its asymptotic distribution is derived. Finite sample size properties of the estimator are investigated using simulation studies. It turns out that the proposed estimator is substantially more efficient than its simple random sampling and ranked set sampling analogs, as the true population proportion tends to zero/unity. The method is illustrated using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.