Testing base load with non-sample prior information on process load

Inference about population parameters could be improved using non- sample prior information (NSPI) from reliable sources along with the available data. This paper studies the problem of testing the intercept parameter of a simple regression model when NSPI is available on the value of the slope. The information on the slope may have the three different scenarios: (i) unknown (unspecified), (ii) known (certain or specified), and (iii) uncertain if the suspected value is unsure, for which we define the unrestricted test (UT), restricted test (RT) and pre-test test (PTT) for the intercept parameter. The test statistics, their sampling distributions, and power functions are derived. Comparison of the power functions and size of the tests are used to search and recommend a best test. The study reveals that the PTT has a reasonable dominance over the UT and RT both in terms of achieving highest power and lowest size.     

Increasing the Power of the Test Through Pre-Test – A Robust Method

Robust test procedures are developed for testing the intercept of a simple regression model when the slope is (i) completely unspecified, (ii) specified to a fixed value, or (iii) suspected to be a fixed value. Defining (i) unrestricted (UT), (ii) restricted (RT), and (iii) pre-test test (PTT) functions for the intercept parameter under the three choices of the slope, tests are formulated using the M-estimation methodology. The asymptotic distributions of the test statistics and their asymptotic power functions are derived. The analytical and graphical comparisons of the tests reveal that the PTT achieves a reasonable dominance over the other tests.     

Tests of homogeneity of intercepts after a preliminary test

For the multl-sample regression model , the problem of testing equality of intercepts following a preliminarytest on the equality o f slopes is considered. The t e s t s are based on the conventional least squares estimators (without necessarily assuming the normality of the underlying error distributions ) , and the impact of a

preliminary test on the asymptotic size and power of the final test is studied.     

Power comparison of data depth-based nonparametric tests for testing equality of locations

In the recent years, the notion of data depth has been used in nonparametric multivariate data analysis since it gives natural ‘centre-outward’ ordering of multivariate data points with respect to the given data cloud. In the literature, various nonparametric tests are developed for testing equality of location of two multivariate distributions based on data depth. Here, we define two nonparametric tests based on two different test statistic for testing equality of locations of two multivariate distributions. In the present work, we compare the performance of these tests with the tests developed by Li and Liu [New nonparametric tests of multivariate locations and scales using data depth. Statist Sci. 2004;(1):686–696] for testing equality of locations of two multivariate distributions. Comparison in terms of power is done for multivariate symmetric and skewed distributions using simulation for three popular depth functions. Application of tests to real life data is provided. Conclusion and recommendations are also provided.     

Tests for Equality of Inflation Parameters of Two Zero-Inflated Power Series Distributions

In this article, we consider two independent zero-inflated power series distributions and provide likelihood ratio test for equality of inflation parameters of the same. As an illustration, testing equality of inflation parameters of two zero inflated Poisson distributions is provided. Further, simulation study to investigate power of likelihood ratio tests has been carried out.     

面板数据单位根似然比检验研究

本文采用似然比类检验统计量进行面板单位根检验（简称为LR检验）研究,在局部备择假设成立的条件下,推导了其在无确定项、仅含截距项以及存在线性时间趋势项三种模型下所对应的渐近分布与局部渐近势函数。Monte Carlo模拟结果显示,当面板数据中含确定项（截距项或时间趋势项）时,LR检验水平比LLC和IPS检验水平更接近于给定的显著性检验水平;此外,当面板数据中包含发散个体时,经水平修正后的LR检验势要远远高于经水平修正后的LLC与IPS检验势,其中,经水平修正后的LLC与IPS检验势接近于零。     

A new test for two-sample location problem based on empirical distribution function

We propose a new test for testing the equality of location parameter of two populations based on empirical distribution function (ECDF). The test statistics is obtained as a power divergence between two ECDFs. The test is shown to be distribution free, and its null distribution is obtained. We conducted empirical power comparison of the proposed test with several other available tests in the literature. We found that the proposed test performs better than its competitors considered here under several population structures. We also used two real datasets to illustrate the procedure.     

Levene type tests for the ratio of two scales

Tests for the equality of variances are of interest in many areas such as quality control, agricultural production systems, experimental education, pharmacology, biology, as well as a preliminary to the analysis of variance, dose–response modelling or discriminant analysis. The literature is vast. Traditional non-parametric tests are due to Mood, Miller and Ansari–Bradley. A test which usually stands out in terms of power and robustness against non-normality is the W50 Brown and Forsythe [Robust tests for the equality of variances, J. Am. Stat. Assoc. 69 (1974), pp. 364–367] modification of the Levene test [Robust tests for equality of variances, in Contributions to Probability and Statistics, I. Olkin, ed., Stanford University Press, Stanford, 1960, pp. 278–292]. This paper deals with the two-sample scale problem and in particular with Levene type tests. We consider 10 Levene type tests: the W50, the M50 and L50 tests [G. Pan, On a Levene type test for equality of two variances, J. Stat. Comput. Simul. 63 (1999), pp. 59–71], the R-test [R.G. O'Brien, A general ANOVA method for robust tests of additive models for variances, J. Am. Stat. Assoc. 74 (1979), pp. 877–880], as well as the bootstrap and permutation versions of the W50, L50 and R tests. We consider also the F-test, the modified Fligner and Killeen [Distribution-free two-sample tests for scale, J. Am. Stat. Assoc. 71 (1976), pp. 210–213] test, an adaptive test due to Hall and Padmanabhan [Adaptive inference for the two-sample scale problem, Technometrics 23 (1997), pp. 351–361] and the two tests due to Shoemaker [Tests for differences in dispersion based on quantiles, Am. Stat. 49(2) (1995), pp. 179–182; Interquantile tests for dispersion in skewed distributions, Commun. Stat. Simul. Comput. 28 (1999), pp. 189–205]. The aim is to identify the effective methods for detecting scale differences. Our study is different with respect to the other ones since it is focused on resampling versions of the Levene type tests, and many tests considered here have not ever been proposed and/or compared. The computationally simplest test found robust is W50. Higher power, while preserving robustness, is achieved by considering the resampling version of Levene type tests like the permutation R-test (recommended for normal- and light-tailed distributions) and the bootstrap L50 test (recommended for heavy-tailed and skewed distributions). Among non-Levene type tests, the best one is the adaptive test due to Hall and Padmanabhan.     

Methods to test for equality of two normal distributions

Statistical tests for two independent samples under the assumption of normality are applied routinely by most practitioners of statistics. Likewise, presumably each introductory course in statistics treats some statistical procedures for two independent normal samples. Often, the classical two-sample model with equal variances is introduced, emphasizing that a test for equality of the expected values is a test for equality of both distributions as well, which is the actual goal. In a second step, usually the assumption of equal variances is discarded. The two-sample t test with Welch correction and the F test for equality of variances are introduced. The first test is solely treated as a test for the equality of central location, as well as the second as a test for the equality of scatter. Typically, there is no discussion if and to which extent testing for equality of the underlying normal distributions is possible, which is quite unsatisfactorily regarding the motivation and treatment of the situation with equal variances. It is the aim of this article to investigate the problem of testing for equality of two normal distributions, and to do so using knowledge and methods adequate to statistical practitioners as well as to students in an introductory statistics course. The power of the different tests discussed in the article is examined empirically. Finally, we apply the tests to several real data sets to illustrate their performance. In particular, we consider several data sets arising from intelligence tests since there is a large body of research supporting the existence of sex differences in mean scores or in variability in specific cognitive abilities.     

Precedence tests for equality of two distributions based on early failures of ranked set samples

In this article, two different types of precedence tests, each with two different test statistics, based on ranked set samples for testing the equality of two distributions are discussed. The exact null distributions of proposed test statistics are derived, critical values are tabulated for both set size and number of cycles up to 8, and the exact power functions of these two types of precedence tests under the Lehmann alternative are derived. Then, the power values of these two test procedures and their competitors based on simple random samples and based on ranked set samples are compared under the Lehmann alternative exactly and also under a location-shift alternative by means of Monte Carlo simulations. Finally, the impact of imperfect ranking is discussed and some concluding remarks are presented.     

The two-sample problem with multivariate censored data: a new rank test family

A new rank test family is proposed to test the equality of two multivariate failure times distributions with censored observations. The tests are very simple: they are based on a transformation of the multivariate rank vectors to a univariate rank score and the resulting statistics belong to the familiar class of the weighted logrank test statistics. The new procedure is also applicable to multivariate observations in general, such as repeated measures, some of which may be missing. To investigate the performance of the proposed tests, a simulation study was conducted with bivariate exponential models for various censoring rates. The size and power of these tests against Lehmann alternatives were compared to the size and power of two other tests (Wei and Lachin, 1984 and Wei and Knuiman, 1987). In all simulations the new procedures provide a relatively good power and an accurate control over the size of the test. A real example from the National Cooperative Gallstone Study is given     

A simulation study of a test for the equality of the coefficients of variation

Simulation study results are given for the size and power of a test for the equality of the coefficients of variation from r normal populations. Independent samples of equal and unequal size from the normal and three other distributions were used. The size and power of the test compare favorably to two tests developed by Doornbos and Dijkstra and the test statistic is simpler to compute.     

Testing equality of correlation coefficients in two populations via permutation methods

The present paper investigates the asymptotic behaviour of a studentized permutation test for testing equality of (Pearson) correlation coefficients in two populations. It is shown that this test is asymptotically of exact level and has the same power for contiguous alternatives as the corresponding asymptotic test. As a by-product we specify the assumptions needed for the validity of the permutation test suggested in Sakaori (2002). A small simulation study compares the finite sample properties of the considered tests.     

A Power Analysis of Tests for Paired Lifetime Data

A power analysis is used to compare tests developed for a new lifetime model applicable for certain paired-data experiments. Two pivotal quantities are available for exact parametric testing of the equality of the marginal survival distributions. Here, the power of each test will be calculated to find the more powerful test. The analysis leads to an interesting scenario where the two power curves are quite similar and less powerful test may actually be preferred for pragmatic considerations.     

A Class of Permutation Tests for the Equality of Two Marginal Survival Functions Using Paired Censored Data

We studied several test statistics for testing the equality of marginal survival functions of paired censored data. The null distribution of the test statistics was approximated by permutation. These tests do not require explicit modeling or estimation of the within-pair correlation, accommodate both paired data and singletons, and the computation is straightforward with most statistical software. Numerical studies showed that these tests have competitive size and power performance. One test statistic has higher power than previously published test statistics when the two survival functions under comparison cross. We illustrate use of these tests in a propensity score matched dataset.     

Sequential precedence tests

In this paper we introduce the sequential precedence test (SPT) for testing the equality of two continuous distribution functions, against the stochastically ordered alternative. This procedure replaces the classical precedence test (PT), used in life-testing experiments, by a sequence of tests which are applied at the failure times of one of the samples. This allows the possibility of stopping the experiment earlier than the PT. By means of extensive Monte Carlo simulations and real data, we show that the proposed methodology results in substantial saving of experimental time and cost, without compromising in power. Algorithms for the implementation of the SPT are included.     

Robust tests for equality of two population means under the normal model

A robust procedure is developed for testing the equality of means in the two sample normal model. This is based on the weighted likelihood estimators of Basu et al. (1993). When the normal model is true the tests proposed have the same asymptotic power as the two sample Student's t-statistic in the equal variance case. However, when the normality assumptions are only approximately true the proposed tests can be substantially more powerful than the classical tests. In a Monte Carlo study for the equal variance case under various outlier models the proposed test using Hellinger distance based weighted likelihood estimator compared favorably with the classical test as well as the robust test proposed by Tiku (1980).     

A simple and asymptotically optimal test for the equality of k(≥2) exponential distributions based on type II censored samples

A test for the equality of two or more two-parameter exponential distributions is suggested. It is developed on an intuitive basis and is obtained by combining two independent tests by the Fisher method (1950, pp. 99-101). The test is simple for application and is optimal asymptotically in the sense of Bahadur efficiency (1960). A numerical example is discussed to illustrate its application in a real-world situation. The Monte Carlo simulation is used for calculating its power which is compared with that of the test suggested by Singh and Narayan (1983). The suggested test is found oftener more powerful.     

A jackknife-based versatile test for two-sample problems with right-censored data

For testing the equality of two survival functions, the weighted logrank test and the weighted Kaplan–Meier test are the two most widely used methods. Actually, each of these tests has advantages and defects against various alternatives, while we cannot specify in advance the possible types of the survival differences. Hence, how to choose a single test or combine a number of competitive tests for indicating the diversities of two survival functions without suffering a substantial loss in power is an important issue. Instead of directly using a particular test which generally performs well in some situations and poorly in others, we further consider a class of tests indexed by a weighted parameter for testing the equality of two survival functions in this paper. A delete-1 jackknife method is implemented for selecting weights such that the variance of the test is minimized. Some numerical experiments are performed under various alternatives for illustrating the superiority of the proposed method. Finally, the proposed testing procedure is applied to two real-data examples as well.     

Distribution-free comparison of hazard rates of two distributions under progressive type-II censoring

Some distribution-free tests have been discussed in the literature with regard to the comparison of hazard rates of two distributions when the available samples are complete. We generalize here Kochar's [S.C. Kochar, A new distribution-free test for the equality of two failure rates, Biometrika 68 (1981), pp. 423–426] test statistic to the case when one available sample is progressively Type-II censored, and then derive its exact null distribution and examine its power properties by means of a Monte Carlo simulation study.