Robust and Efficient Bayesian Inference for Non-Probability Samples

Abstract: The declining response rates in probability surveys along with the widespread availability of unstructured data has led to growing research into non-probability samples. Existing robust approaches are not well-developed for non-Gaussian outcomes and may perform poorly in presence of influential pseudo-weights. Furthermore, their variance estimator lacks a unified framework and rely often on asymptotic theory. To address these gaps, we propose an alternative Bayesian approach using a partially linear Gaussian process regression that utilizes a prediction model with a flexible function of the pseudo-inclusion probabilities to impute the outcome variable for the reference survey. By efficiency, we mean not only computational scalability but also superiority with respect to variance. We also show that Gaussian process regression behaves as a kernel matching technique based on the estimated propensity scores, which yields double robustness and lowers sensitivity to influential pseudo-weights. Using the simulated posterior predictive distribution, one can directly quantify the uncertainty of the proposed estimator and derive associated $95\%$ credible intervals. We assess the repeated sampling properties of our method in two simulation studies. The application of this study deals with modeling count data with varying exposures under a non-probability sample setting.