2 0 1 2   Y O U T H   R I S K   B E H A V I O R   S U R V E Y   R E S U L T S

Nebraska High School Survey
Sample Description


Sample Description
School Level - All regular public schools containing grades 9, 10, 11, or 12 were 
included in the sampling frame.  Schools were selected systematically with probability 
proportional to enrollment in grades 9 through 12 using a random start.  82 schools were 
sampled.   

Class Level - All classes in a required subject or all classes meeting during a particular 
period of the day, depending on the school, were included in the sampling frame.  
Systematic equal probability sampling with a random start was used to select classes 
from each school that participated in the survey.

Response Rates
Schools -	89%	73 of the 82 sampled eligible schools participated.

Students -	79%	1,900 of the 2,391 sampled students submitted questionnaires. 
		1,885 questionnaires were usable after data editing.

Overall response rate is computed as (number of participating schools/number of eligible sampled schools) * 
(number of usable questionnaires/number of eligible students sampled in participating schools), rounded to the 
nearest integer.

Overall response rate -	89% * 79% = 70% 

Weighting 
A weight has been associated with each questionnaire to reflect the likelihood of 
sampling each student and to reduce bias by compensating for differing patterns of 
nonresponse.  The weight used for estimation is given by:

W = W1 * W2 * f1 * f2 * f3

W1	=	the inverse of the probability of selecting the school;
W2	=	the inverse of the probability of selecting the classroom within the school;
f1	=	a school-level nonresponse adjustment factor calculated by school size 
category (small, medium, large).  The factor was calculated in terms of 
school enrollment instead of number of schools;
f2	=	a student-level nonresponse adjustment factor calculated by class;
f3	=	a poststratification adjustment factor calculated by gender within grade 
and by race/ethnicity.

Use of the Weighted Results
The weighted results can be used to make important inferences concerning the priority 
health-risk behaviors of all regular public school students in grades 9 through 12.