Testing homogeneity in discrete mixtures

This paper introduces W-tests for assessing homogeneity in mixtures of discrete probability distributions. A W-test statistic depends on the data solely through parameter estimators and, if a penalized maximum likelihood estimation framework is used, has a tractable asymptotic distribution under the null hypothesis of homogeneity. The large-sample critical values are quantiles of a chi-square distribution multiplied by an estimable constant for which we provide an explicit formula. In particular, the estimation of large-sample critical values does not involve simulation experiments or random field theory. We demonstrate that W-tests are generally competitive with a benchmark test in terms of power to detect heterogeneity. Moreover, in many situations, the large-sample critical values can be used even with small to moderate sample sizes. The main implementation issue (selection of an underlying measure) is thoroughly addressed, and we explain why W-tests are well-suited to problems involving large and online data sets. Application of a W-test is illustrated with an epidemiological data set.     

ON BOOTSTRAP HYPOTHESIS TESTING

We describe methods for constructing bootstrap hypothesis tests, illustrating our approach using analysis of variance. The importance of pivotalness is discussed. Pivotal statistics usually result in improved accuracy of level. We note that hypothesis tests and confidence intervals call for different methods of resampling, so as to ensure that accurate critical point estimates are obtained in the former case even when data fail to comply with the null hypothesis. Our main points are illustrated by a simulation study and application to three real data sets.     

Tests for exponentiality

The idea of measuring the departure of data bu a plot of obeserved observations against their expectation has been expeetations has been exploited in this paper to develop tests for exponentiality the tests are for parameter two parameter exponential distribution with complete sample and one parameter exponential distribution with complete sample and one large sample distributions of the test statistics critical points have been computed for different levels of significance and applications of these have been computed for differents levels of significance and applications of these tests have been discussed in case of three data sets.     

Some multiple comparison procedures for comparing treatments within several groups

Multiple comparison procedures are extended to designs consisting of several groups, where the treatment means are to be compared within each group. This may arise in two-factor experiments, with a significant interaction term, when one is interested in comparing the levels of one factor at each level of the other factor. A general approach is presented for deriving the distributions and calculating critical points, following three papers which dealt with two specific procedures. These points are used for constructing simultaneous confidence intervals over some restricted set of contrasts among treatment means in each of the groups. Tables of critical values are provided for two procedures and an application is demonstrated. Some extensions are presented for the case of possible different sets of contrasts and also for unequal variances in the various groups.     

Testing the similarity of two normal populations with application to the bioequivalence problem

The problem of testing the similarity of two normal populations is reconsidered, in this article, from a nonclassical point of view. We introduce a test statistic based on the maximum likelihood estimate of Weitzman's overlapping coefficient. Simulated critical points are provided for the proposed test for various sample sizes and significance levels. Statistical powers of the proposed test are computed via simulation studies and compared to those of the existing tests. Furthermore, Type-I error robustness of the proposed and the existing tests are studied via simulation studies when the underlying distributions are non-normal. Two data sets are analyzed for illustration purposes. Finally, the proposed test has been implemented to assess the bioequivalence of two drug formulations.     

Between-group comparison of principal components — some sampling results

Sampling distributions arc Investigated for the critical angles proposed by Krzanowski (1979) as a means of comparing principal component analyses done on two sets of individuals, each of which has had the same p responses measured on it. A summary of the distributions is presented, by giving mean angles and 95% points. The emphasis is on the null case, when the two sets of individuals are assumed to be independent samples from the same population, but a limited study is also made of the case where the two samples come from different populations.     

Multidimensional scaling on a sphere

Nonmetric multidimensional scaling (MDS) is adapted to give configurations of points that lie on the surface of a sphere.There are data sets where it can be argued that spherical MDS is more relevant than the usual planar MDS.The theory behind the adaption of planar MDS to spherical MDS is outlined and then its use is illustrated on three data sets.     

The Path of the Minimum l p -Norm Estimator for p Between 1 and Infinity

The minimum l^p-norm estimator is the point that minimizes the sum of the distance from each data point in the l^p-norm. The path of this location estimate for an l^p-norm is found as p goes from 1 to infinity. This path indicates how critical the selection of an exponent is. An alternative proof of Descartes's rule of signs, applied to exponential sums, limits the number of repeated exponents for the same minimum point with usual data sets. Several bounds on this path include that it stays among the averages of pairs of data points.     

The efficacy of the correlation dimension technique in detecting determinism in small samples

This paper presents the results of a simulation study investigating the efficacy of the correlation dimension technique in detecting the presence of deterministic structure in small data sets. The results show that for some very simple structures a mere 100 data points suffice; but for some slightly more complicated structures, which arguably are still simple relative to real-world structures, even 2500 data points are inadequate. These results suggest that substantial caution be used in interpreting negative results on empirical data.     

Analysis op failure time data by burr distribution

Sometimes it is appropriate to model the survival and failure time data by a non-monotonic failure rate distribution. This may be desirable when the course of disease is such that mortality reaches a peak after some finite period and then slowly declines.In this paper we study Burr, type XII model whose failure rate exhibits the above behavior. The location of the critical points (at which the monotonicity changes) for both the failure rate and the mean residual life function (MRLF) are studied. A procedure is described for estimating these critical points. Necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence and uniqueness of the maximum likelihood estimates are provided and it is shown that the conditions provided by Wingo (1993) are not sufficient. A data set pertaining to fibre failure strengths is analyzed and the maximum likelihood estimates of the critical points are obtained.     

An ANOVA-type test for multiple change points

We consider the problem of testing the null hypothesis of no change against the alternative of multiple change points in a series of independent observations. We propose an ANOVA-type test statistic and obtain its asymptotic null distribution. We also give approximations of its limiting critical values. We report the results of Monte Carlo studies conducted to compare the power of the proposed test against a number of its competitors. As illustrations we analyzed three real data sets.     

Skewness:asymptotic critical values for a test related to Pearson's measure

We examine the asymptotic distribution of, and give critical values for, a test related to Pearson's measure of skewness. The test detects the asymmetry of a continuous distribution about a specified median. Two sets of data are tested using our method.eabs:     

Validation of surrogate end points in multiple randomized clinical trials with failure time end points

Before a surrogate end point can replace a final (true) end point in the evaluation of an experimental treatment, it must be formally 'validated'. The validation will typically require large numbers of observations. It is therefore useful to consider situations in which data are available from several randomized experiments. For two normally distributed end points Buyse and co-workers suggested a new definition of validity in terms of the quality of both trial level and individual level associations between the surrogate and true end points. This paper extends this approach to the important case of two failure time end points, using bivariate survival modelling. The method is illustrated by using two actual sets of data from cancer clinical trials.     

Bayesian Analysis of a Growth Curve Model with a General Autoregressive Covariance Structure

In this paper we consider from maximum likelihood and Bayesian points of view the generalized growth curve model when the covariance matrix has a Toeplitz structure. This covariance is a generalization of the AR(1) dependence structure. Inferences on the parameters as well as the future values are included. The results are illustrated with several real data sets.     

THE CHOICE BETWEEN SETS OF REGRESSORS

This paper examines the choice of critical values for testing both non-sequential and nested sequential sets of constraints in the standard linear regression model. Modest increases in (e.g.) t-ratio critical values relative to their one-off values are often sufficient to maintain proper size. A Bayesian decision-theoretic approach, highlighted by the Schwarz (1978) criterion, provides a framework for deriving consistency and asymptotic local power properties of both forms of testing (data mining) algorithms.     

The performance of diagnostic-robust generalized potentials for the identification of multiple high leverage points in linear regression

Leverage values are being used in regression diagnostics as measures of influential observations in the $X$-space. Detection of high leverage values is crucial because of their responsibility for misleading conclusion about the fitting of a regression model, causing multicollinearity problems, masking and/or swamping of outliers, etc. Much work has been done on the identification of single high leverage points and it is generally believed that the problem of detection of a single high leverage point has been largely resolved. But there is no general agreement among the statisticians about the detection of multiple high leverage points. When a group of high leverage points is present in a data set, mainly because of the masking and/or swamping effects the commonly used diagnostic methods fail to identify them correctly. On the other hand, the robust alternative methods can identify the high leverage points correctly but they have a tendency to identify too many low leverage points to be points of high leverages which is not also desired. An attempt has been made to make a compromise between these two approaches. We propose an adaptive method where the suspected high leverage points are identified by robust methods and then the low leverage points (if any) are put back into the estimation data set after diagnostic checking. The usefulness of our newly proposed method for the detection of multiple high leverage points is studied by some well-known data sets and Monte Carlo simulations.     

A high breakdown,high efficiency and bounded influence modified GM estimator based on support vector regression

Regression analysis aims to estimate the approximate relationship between the response variable and the explanatory variables. This can be done using classical methods such as ordinary least squares. Unfortunately, these methods are very sensitive to anomalous points, often called outliers, in the data set. The main contribution of this article is to propose a new version of the Generalized M-estimator that provides good resistance against vertical outliers and bad leverage points. The advantage of this method over the existing methods is that it does not minimize the weight of the good leverage points, and this increases the efficiency of this estimator. To achieve this goal, the fixed parameters support vector regression technique is used to identify and minimize the weight of outliers and bad leverage points. The effectiveness of the proposed estimator is investigated using real and simulated data sets.     

Selecting and checking a binomial response generalized linear model using phi-divergences

This work introduces specific tools based on phi-divergences to select and check generalized linear models with binary data. A backward selection criterion that helps to reduce the number of explanatory variables is considered. Diagnostic methods based on divergence measures such as a new measure to detect leverage points and two indicators to detect influential points are introduced. As an illustration, the diagnostics are applied to human psychology data.     

Reliability Studies of the Log-Exponential Inverse Gaussian Distribution

In this article, we investigate the monotonicity of the density, failure rate, and mean residual life functions of the log-exponential inverse Gaussian distribution. It turns out that, in this case, the monotonicity of the density, failure rate, and mean residual life functions take different forms depending on the range of the parameters. Maximum likelihood estimators of the critical points of the density, failure rate, and mean residual life functions of the model are evaluated using Monte Carlo simulations. An example of a published data set is used to illustrate the estimation of the critical points.