Pivotal inference for the inverse Rayleigh distribution based on general progressively Type-II censored samples

In this paper, we consider the problem of estimating the scale parameter of the inverse Rayleigh distribution based on general progressively Type-II censored samples and progressively Type-II censored samples. The pivotal quantity method is used to derive the estimator of the scale parameter. Besides, considering that the maximum likelihood estimator is tough to obtain for this distribution, we derive an explicit estimator of the scale parameter by approximating the likelihood equation with Taylor expansion. The interval estimation is also studied based on pivotal inference. Then we conduct Monte Carlo simulations and compare the performance of different estimators. We demonstrate that the pivotal inference is simpler and more effective. The further application of the pivotal quantity method is also discussed theoretically. Finally, two real data sets are analyzed using our methods.     

Likelihood inference for the component lifetime distribution based on progressively censored parallel systems data

Point and interval estimators for the scale parameter of the component lifetime distribution of a k-component parallel system are obtained when the component lifetimes are assumed to be independently and identically exponentially distributed. We prove that the maximum likelihood estimator of the scale parameter based on progressively Type-II censored system lifetimes is unique and can be obtained by a fixed-point iteration procedure. In particular, we illustrate that the Newton–Raphson method does not converge for any initial value. Furthermore, exact confidence intervals are constructed by a transformation using normalized spacings and other component lifetime distributions including Weibull distribution are discussed.     

On the exact distribution of the MLEs based on Type-II progressively hybrid censored data from exponential distributions

ABSTRACT

Distributions of the maximum likelihood estimators (MLEs) in Type-II (progressive) hybrid censoring based on two-parameter exponential distributions have been obtained using a moment generating function approach. Although resulting in explicit expressions, the representations are complicated alternating sums. Using the spacings-based approach of Cramer and Balakrishnan [On some exact distributional results based on Type-I progressively hybrid censored data from exponential distributions. Statist Methodol. 2013;10:128–150], we derive simple expressions for the exact density and distribution functions of the MLEs in terms of B-spline functions. These representations can be easily implemented on a computer and provide an efficient method to compute density and distribution functions as well as moments of Type-II (progressively) hybrid censored order statistics.     

Inference of stress-strength for the Type-II generalized logistic distribution under progressively Type-II censored samples

This article studies the estimation of the reliability R = P[Y < X] when X and Y come from two independent generalized logistic distributions of Type-II with different parameters, based on progressively Type-II censored samples. When the common scale parameter is unknown, the maximum likelihood estimator and its asymptotic distribution are proposed. The asymptotic distribution is used to construct an asymptotic confidence interval of R. Bayes estimator of R and the corresponding credible interval using the Gibbs sampling technique have been proposed too. Assuming that the common scale parameter is known, the maximum likelihood estimator, uniformly minimum variance unbiased estimator, Bayes estimation, and confidence interval of R are extracted. Monte Carlo simulations are performed to compare the different proposed methods. Analysis of a real dataset is given for illustrative purposes. Finally, methods are extended for proportional hazard rate models.     

On adaptive progressively Type-II censored competing risks data

In this article, a competing risks model based on exponential distributions is considered under the adaptive Type-II progressively censoring scheme introduced by Ng et al. [2009, Naval Research Logistics 56:687-698], for life testing or reliability experiment. Moreover, we assumed that some causes of failures are unknown. The maximum likelihood estimators (MLEs) of unknown parameters are established. The exact conditional and the asymptotic distributions of the obtained estimators are derived to construct the confidence intervals as well as the two different bootstraps of different unknown parameters. Under suitable priors on the unknown parameters, Bayes estimates and the corresponding two sides of Bayesian probability intervals are obtained. Also, for the purpose of evaluating the average bias and mean square error of the MLEs, and comparing the confidence intervals based on all mentioned methods, a simulation study was carried out. Finally, we present one real dataset to conduct the proposed methods.     

Two-sample prediction for progressively Type-II censored Weibull lifetimes

Prediction on the basis of censored data has an important role in many fields. This article develops a non-Bayesian two-sample prediction based on a progressive Type-II right censoring scheme. We obtain the maximum likelihood (ML) prediction in a general form for lifetime models including the Weibull distribution. The Weibull distribution is considered to obtain the ML predictor (MLP), the ML prediction estimate (MLPE), the asymptotic ML prediction interval (AMLPI), and the asymptotic predictive ML intervals of the sth-order statistic in a future random sample (Y_s) drawn independently from the parent population, for an arbitrary progressive censoring scheme. To reach this aim, we present three ML prediction methods namely the numerical solution, the EM algorithm, and the approximate ML prediction. We compare the performances of the different methods of ML prediction under asymptotic normality and bootstrap methods by Monte Carlo simulation with respect to biases and mean square prediction errors (MSPEs) of the MLPs of Y_s as well as coverage probabilities (CP) and average lengths (AL) of the AMLPIs. Finally, we give a numerical example and a real data sample to assess the computational comparison of these methods of the ML prediction.     

Bayesian estimation and prediction based on generalized Type-II hybrid censored sample

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we consider a general form for the underlying distribution and a general conjugate prior, and develop a general procedure for deriving the maximum likelihood and Bayesian estimators based on an observed generalized Type-II hybrid censored sample. The problems of predicting the future order statistics from the same sample and that from a future sample are also discussed from a Bayesian viewpoint. For the illustration of the developed results, the exponential and Pareto distributions are used as examples. Finally, two numerical examples are presented for illustrating all the inferential procedures developed here.     

On the likelihood estimation of the parameters of Gompertz distribution based on complete and progressively Type-II censored samples

In this paper, by considering a progressively Type-II censored sample from the two-parameter Gompertz distribution, a necessary and sufficient condition is established for the existence and uniqueness of the maximum-likelihood estimates of the shape and scale parameters. The results for the special cases of complete and ordinary Type-II right censored samples are then deduced. Several numerical examples from the literature are presented for the purpose of illustrating the established results.     

Exact likelihood inference for Laplace distribution based on Type-II censored samples

We develop exact inference for the location and scale parameters of the Laplace (double exponential) distribution based on their maximum likelihood estimators from a Type-II censored sample. Based on some pivotal quantities, exact confidence intervals and tests of hypotheses are constructed. Upon conditioning first on the number of observations that are below the population median, exact distributions of the pivotal quantities are expressed as mixtures of linear combinations and of ratios of linear combinations of standard exponential random variables, which facilitates the computation of quantiles of these pivotal quantities. Tables of quantiles are presented for the complete sample case.     

Analysis of Type-II hybrid censored competing risks data

Kundu and Gupta [Analysis of hybrid life-tests in presence of competing risks. Metrica. 2007;65:159–170] provided the analysis of Type-I hybrid censored competing risks data, when the lifetime distributions of the competing cause of failures follows exponential distribution. In this paper, we consider the analysis of Type-II hybrid censored competing risks data. It is assumed that latent lifetime distributions of the competing causes of failures follow independent exponential distributions with different scale parameters. It is observed that the maximum likelihood estimators of the unknown parameters do not always exist. We propose the modified estimators of the scale parameters, which coincide with the corresponding maximum likelihood estimators when they exist, and asymptotically they are equivalent. We obtain the exact distribution of the proposed estimators. Using the exact distributions of the proposed estimators, associated confidence intervals are obtained. The asymptotic and bootstrap confidence intervals of the unknown parameters are also provided. Further, Bayesian inference of some unknown parametric functions under a very flexible Beta-Gamma prior is considered. Bayes estimators and associated credible intervals of the unknown parameters are obtained using the Monte Carlo method. Extensive Monte Carlo simulations are performed to see the effectiveness of the proposed estimators and one real data set has been analysed for the illustrative purposes. It is observed that the proposed model and the method work quite well for this data set.     

Inference for the generalized Rayleigh distribution based on progressively censored data

In this paper, and based on a progressive type-II censored sample from the generalized Rayleigh (GR) distribution, we consider the problem of estimating the model parameters and predicting the unobserved removed data. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian approaches are used to estimate the scale and shape parameters. The Gibbs and Metropolis samplers are used to predict the life lengths of the removed units in multiple stages of the progressively censored sample. Artificial and real data analyses have been performed for illustrative purposes.     

Recurrence relations for single and product moments of progressively Type-II censored order statistics from generalized logistic distribution with applications to inference

In this article, we establish several recurrence relations for the single and product moments of progressively Type-II right censored order statistics from a generalized logistic distribution. The use of these relations in a systematic manner allow us to compute all the means, variances, and covariances of progressively Type-II right censored order statistics from the generalized logistic distribution for all sample sizes n, effective sample sizes m, and all progressive censoring schemes (R₁, …, R_m). These moments are then utilized to derive best linear unbiased estimators of the scale and location-scale parameters of the generalized logistic distribution. A comparison of these estimators with the maximum likelihood estimates is then made through Monte Carlo simulations. Finally, the best linear unbiased predictors of censored failure times is discussed briefly.     

Exact inference for a simple step-stress model with Type-II hybrid censored data from the exponential distribution

In reliability and life-testing experiments, the researcher is often interested in the effects of extreme or varying stress factors such as temperature, voltage and load on the lifetimes of experimental units. Step-stress test, which is a special class of accelerated life-tests, allows the experimenter to increase the stress levels at fixed times during the experiment in order to obtain information on the parameters of the life distributions more quickly than under normal operating conditions. In this paper, we consider a new step-stress model in which the life-testing experiment gets terminated either at a pre-fixed time (say, _Tm+1$T_{m+1}$) or at a random time ensuring at least a specified number of failures (say, r out of n). Under this model in which the data obtained are Type-II hybrid censored, we consider the case of exponential distribution for the underlying lifetimes. We then derive the maximum likelihood estimators (MLEs) of the parameters assuming a cumulative exposure model with lifetimes being exponentially distributed. The exact distributions of the MLEs of parameters are obtained through the use of conditional moment generating functions. We also derive confidence intervals for the parameters using these exact distributions, asymptotic distributions of the MLEs and the parametric bootstrap methods, and assess their performance through a Monte Carlo simulation study. Finally, we present two examples to illustrate all the methods of inference discussed here.     

Bayesian prediction of unobserved values for Type-II censored data

In this paper, we consider posterior predictive distributions of Type-II censored data for an inverse Weibull distribution. These functions are given by using conditional density functions and conditional survival functions. Although the conditional survival functions were expressed by integral forms in previous studies, we derive the conditional survival functions in closed forms and thereby reduce the computation cost. In addition, we calculate the predictive confidence intervals of unobserved values and coverage probabilities of unobserved values by using the posterior predictive survival functions.     

Inference for the extreme value distribution under progressive Type-II censoring

The extreme value distribution has been extensively used to model natural phenomena such as rainfall and floods, and also in modeling lifetimes and material strengths. Maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) for the parameters of the extreme value distribution leads to likelihood equations that have to be solved numerically, even when the complete sample is available. In this paper, we discuss point and interval estimation based on progressively Type-II censored samples. Through an approximation in the likelihood equations, we obtain explicit estimators which are approximations to the MLEs. Using these approximate estimators as starting values, we obtain the MLEs using an iterative method and examine numerically their bias and mean squared error. The approximate estimators compare quite favorably to the MLEs in terms of both bias and efficiency. Results of the simulation study, however, show that the probability coverages of the pivotal quantities (for location and scale parameters) based on asymptotic normality are unsatisfactory for both these estimators and particularly so when the effective sample size is small. We, therefore, suggest the use of unconditional simulated percentage points of these pivotal quantities for the construction of confidence intervals. The results are presented for a wide range of sample sizes and different progressive censoring schemes. We conclude with an illustrative example.     

Exact likelihood inference based on an unified hybrid censored sample from the exponential distribution

Recently, exact confidence bounds and exact likelihood inference have been developed based on hybrid censored samples by Chen and Bhattacharyya [Chen, S. and Bhattacharyya, G.K. (1998). Exact confidence bounds for an exponential parameter under hybrid censoring. Communications in Statistics—Theory and Methods, 17, 1857–1870.], Childs et al. [Childs, A., Chandrasekar, B., Balakrishnan, N. and Kundu, D. (2003). Exact likelihood inference based on Type-I and Type-II hybrid censored samples from the exponential distribution. Annals of the Institute of Statistical Mathematics, 55, 319–330.], and Chandrasekar et al. [Chandrasekar, B., Childs, A. and Balakrishnan, N. (2004). Exact likelihood inference for the exponential distribution under generalized Type-I and Type-II hybrid censoring. Naval Research Logistics, 51, 994–1004.] for the case of the exponential distribution. In this article, we propose an unified hybrid censoring scheme (HCS) which includes many cases considered earlier as special cases. We then derive the exact distribution of the maximum likelihood estimator as well as exact confidence intervals for the mean of the exponential distribution under this general unified HCS. Finally, we present some examples to illustrate all the methods of inference developed here.     

Recurrence relations for moments of progressively censored order statistics from logistic distribution with applications to inference

In this paper, we establish several recurrence relations for the single and product moments of progressively Type-II right censored order statistics from a logistic distribution. The use of these relations in a systematic manner allows us to compute all the means, variances and covariances of progressively Type-II right censored order statistics from the logistic distribution for all sample sizes n, effective sample sizes m, and all progressive censoring schemes (R₁,…,R_m). The results established here generalize the corresponding results for the usual order statistics due to [Shah, 1966] and [Shah, 1970]. These moments are then utilized to derive best linear unbiased estimators of the location and scale parameters of the logistic distribution. A comparison of these estimators with the maximum likelihood estimations is then made. The best linear unbiased predictors of censored failure times are briefly discussed. Finally, an illustrative example is presented.     

Bayesian prediction for progressively censored data from the Burr model

Received: August 14, 2000; revised version: April 23, 2001     

Statistical inference for two exponential populations under joint progressive type-I censored scheme

In this article, we introduce a new scheme called joint progressive type-I (JPC-I) censored and as a special case, joint type-I censored scheme. Bayesian and non Bayesian estimators have been obtained for two exponential populations under both JPC-I censored scheme and joint type-I censored. The maximum likelihood estimators of the parameters, the asymptotic variance covariance matrix, have been obtained. Bayes estimators have been developed under squared error loss function using independent gamma prior distributions. Moreover, approximate confidence region based on the asymptotic normality of the maximum likelihood estimators and credible confidence region from a Bayesian viewpoint are also discussed and compared with two Bootstrap confidence regions. A numerical illustration for these new results is given.