Using orthogonal array for constructing three-level search designs

We consider the problem of constructing search designs for 3^m factorial designs. By using projection properties of some three-level orthogonal arrays, some search designs are obtained for 3 ? m ? 11. The new obtained orthogonal search designs are capable of searching and identifying up to four two-factor interactions and estimating them along with the general mean and main effects. The resulted designs have very high searching probabilities; it means that besides the well-known orthogonal structure, they have high ability in searching the true effects.     

Optimal designs based on exact confidence regions for parameter estimation of a nonlinear regression model

This paper is concerned with the proposal of optimality criteria, referred to as X  - and X^′$X^{\prime }$-optimality criteria, and the construction of X  - and X^′$X^{\prime }$-optimal designs, for nonlinear regression models. These optimal designs aim at improving the estimation of parameters of this class of models. The principle of these criteria is the minimization, with respect to the design, of the expected volume of a particular exact parametric confidence region. In this paper we give detailed definitions, properties, and computation methods of X  - and X^′$X^{\prime }$-optimal designs. We also compare these designs with the classic local D-optimal designs, with regard to robustness and efficiency, for two very well-known academic models (Box–Lucas and Michaelis–Menten models).     

A series of single array 2m factorial search designs for even m

By means of a search design one is able to search for and estimate a small set of non‐zero elements from the set of higher order factorial interactions in addition to estimating the lower order factorial effects. One may be interested in estimating the general mean and main effects, in addition to searching for and estimating a non‐negligible effect in the set of 2‐ and 3‐factor interactions, assuming 4‐ and higher‐order interactions are all zero. Such a search design is called a ‘main effect plus one plan’ and is denoted by MEP.1. Construction of such a plan, for 2^m factorial experiments, has been considered and developed by several authors and leads to MEP.1 plans for an odd number m of factors. These designs are generally determined by two arrays, one specifying a main effect plan and the other specifying a follow‐up. In this paper we develop the construction of search designs for an even number of factors m, m≠6. The new series of MEP.1 plans is a set of single array designs with a well structured form. Such a structure allows for flexibility in arriving at an appropriate design with optimum properties for search and estimation.     

Universal optimality of experimental designs: Definitions and a criterion

Several definitions of universal optimality of experimental designs are found in the Literature; we discuss the interrelations of these definitions using a recent characterization due to Friedland of convex functions of matrices. An easily checked criterion is given for a design to satisfy the main definition of universal optimality; this criterion says that a certain set of linear functions of the eigenvalues of the information matrix is maximized by the information matrix of a design if and only if that design is universally optimal. Examples are given; in particular we show that any universally optimal design is (M, S)-optimal in the sense of K. Shah.     

Cost-efficient designs based on linearly associated biomarkers

A major limiting factor in much of the epidemiological and environmental researches is the cost of measuring the biomarkers or analytes of interest. Often, the number of specimens available for analysis is greater than the number of assays that is budgeted for. These assays are then performed on a random sample of specimens. Regression calibration is then utilized to infer biomarker levels of expensive assays from other correlated biomarkers that are relatively inexpensive to obtain and analyze. In other contexts, use of pooled specimens has been shown to increase efficiency in estimation. In this article, we examine two types of pooling in lieu of a random sample. The first is random (or traditional) pooling, and we characterize the second as “optimal” pooling. The second, which we propose for regression analysis, is pooling based on specimens ranked on the less expensive biomarker. The more expensive assay is then performed on the pool of relatively similar measurements. The optimal nature of this technique is also exemplified via Monte Carlo evaluations and real biomarker data. By displaying the considerable robustness of our method via a Monte Carlo study, it is shown that the proposed pooling design is a viable option whenever expensive assays are considered.     

Optimum designs for estimation of optimum point under cost constraint

In this paper, we consider the estimation of the optimum factor combination in a response surface model. Assuming that the response function is quadratic concave and there is a linear cost constraint on the factor combination, we attempt to find the optimum design using the trace optimality criterion. As the criterion function involves the unknown parameters, we adopt a pseudo-Bayesian approach to resolve the problem.     

Robust designs for ratio and regression estimation

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a class of robust designs to be used with ratio estimators and extend them to regression estimators. Robustness is to be achieved against departures from a model for which the estimator is ‘optimal’. Practical implementation of the design is indicated both for large and small samples.     

On the equivalence of three estimators for dispersion effects in unreplicated two-level factorial designs

Box and Meyer [1986. Dispersion effects from fractional designs. Technometrics 28(1), 19–27] were the first to consider identifying both location and dispersion effects from unreplicated two-level fractional factorial designs. Since the publication of their paper a number of different procedures (both iterative and non-iterative) have been proposed for estimating the location and dispersion effects. An overview and a critical analysis of most of these procedures is given by Brenneman and Nair [2001. Methods for identifying dispersion effects in unreplicated factorial experiments: a critical analysis and proposed strategies. Technometrics 43(4), 388–405]. Under a linear structure for the dispersion effects, non-iterative estimation methods for the dispersion effects were proposed by Brenneman and Nair [2001. Methods for identifying dispersion effects in unreplicated factorial experiments: a critical analysis and proposed strategies. Technometrics 43(4), 388–405], Liao and Iyer [2000. Optimal 2^n-p$2^{n-p}$ fractional factorial designs for dispersion effects under a location-dispersion model. Comm. Statist. Theory Methods 29(4), 823–835] and Wiklander [1998. A comparison of two estimators of dispersion effects. Comm. Statist. Theory Methods 27(4), 905–923] (see also Wiklander and Holm [2003. Dispersion effects in unreplicated factorial designs. Appl. Stochastic. Models Bus. Ind. 19(1), 13–30]). We prove that for two-level factorial designs the proposed estimators are different representations of a single estimator. The proof uses the framework of Seely [1970a. Linear spaces and unbiased estimation. Ann. Math. Statist. 41, 1725–1734], in which quadratic estimators are expressed as inner products of symmetric matrices.     

On the existence of linear trend free block designs

We present a class of counerexamples for a conjecture on the existence or linear trend free block designs we will also prove a considerably weakened version of this conjecture which will determine all combinations of designs parmetres for which the class of linear trend free block designs is non empty.     

A bound connected with 26 factorial search designs of resolution 3.1

In this paper, we give a lower bound for the number of treatments required

for a plan to be a main effect plus one plan for 2^m (m = 6) factorial experiments, The lower bound problem is important in the event of generating new designs with similar properties or when one wants to study the criteria of optimality for such designs.     

An investigation of first-order and second-order designs for extrapolation outside a hypersphere

Methods for selecting a first-order or second-order rotatable response surface design when both variance and bias error exist are applied to a situation in which it is desired to extrapolate the fitted model in all directions outside of a sphere within which all the experiments are to be made. The extrapolation region is a spherical shell.     

Some results on optimality in models with heteroscedastic errors from partial optimum designs

This paper studies optimum designs for linear models when the errors are heteroscedastic. Sufficient conditions are given in order to obtainD-, A- andE-optimum designs for a complete regression model from partial optimum designs for some sub-parameters. A result about optimality for a complete model from the optimality for the submodels is included. Supported by Junta de Andalucía, research group FQM244.     

Some new factor screening designs using the search linear model

Factor screening designs for searching two and three effective factors using the search linear model are discussed. The construction of such factor screening designs involved finding a fraction with small number of treatments of a 2^m factorial experiment having the property P_2t (no 2t columns are linearly dependent) for t=2 and 3. A ‘Packing Problem’ is introduced in this connection. A complete solution of the problem in one case and partial solutions for the other cases are presented. Many practically useful new designs are listed.     

On d- and e- minimax optimal designs for estimating the axial slopes of a second-order response surface over hypercubic regions

Design of experiments for estimating the slopes of a response surface is considered. Design criteria analogous to the traditional ones but based upon the variance-covariance matrix of the estimated slopes along factor axes are proposed. Optimal designs under the proposed criteria are derived for second-order polynomial regression over hypercubic regions. Best de¬signs within some commonly used classes of designs are also obtained and their efficiencies are investigated.     

Optimum designs for parameter estimation in a mixture experiment with two correlated responses

In this paper, we investigate a mixture problem with two responses, which are functions of the mixing proportions, and are correlated with known dispersion matrix. We obtain D- and A-optimal designs for estimating the parameters of the response functions, when none or some of the regression coefficients of the two functions are the same. It is shown that when no prior knowledge about the regression coefficients is available, the D-optimal design is independent of the dispersion matrix, while the A-optimal design depends on it, provided the response functions are of different degree. On the other hand, when some of the regression coefficients are known to be the same for both the functions, the D-optimal design depends on the dispersion matrix when the two response functions are not of the same degree.     

Bayes a-opttmal and efficient block designs for comparing test treatments with a standard treatment

A sufficient condition for the Bayes A-optimality of block designs when comparing a standard treatment with v test treatments is given by Majumdar. (In:Optimal Design and Analysis of Experiments, Y. Dodge, V. V. Fedorov and H. P. Wynn (Eds.), 15-27, North-Holland, 1988). The priors that he considers depend on a constant α ε [0, ∞), with α - 0 corresponding to no prior information at all. The given sufficient condition, consequently, also depends on a. Large families of optimal and highly efficient designs are only known for the case α - 0. We will show how some of the results for α - 0 can be extended to obtain large families of optimal and highly efficient designs for arbitrary values of α. In addition, these results are useful when considering design robustness against an improper choice of α.     

Weighted Searching Probability for Classes of Equivalent Search Designs Comparison

Search design is searching and estimating for a few non zero effects in a large set of effects along with estimation of elements in a set of unknown parameters. In presence of noise, the probability of discrimination between the true non zero effect from an alternative one depends on the design and an unknown parameter, say ρ. We develop a new criterion for design comparison which is independent of ρ and for a family density weight function show that it discriminates and ranks the designs precisely. This criterion is invariance to the variable noise which may be present between designs due to noise factors. This allows us to extend the design comparison to classes of equivalent designs.     

Control charts based on quasi-likelihood estimation for monitoring profiles

In some applications, the quality of the process or product is characterized and summarized by a functional relationship between a response variable and one or more explanatory variables. Profile monitoring is a technique for checking the stability of the relationship over time. Existing linear profile monitoring methods usually assumed the error distribution to be normal. However, this assumption may not always be true in practice. To address this situation, we propose a method for profile monitoring under the framework of generalized linear models when the relationship between the mean and variance of the response variable is known. Two multivariate exponentially weighted moving average control schemes are proposed based on the estimated profile parameters obtained using a quasi-likelihood approach. The performance of the proposed methods is evaluated by simulation studies. Furthermore, the proposed method is applied to a real data set, and the R code for profile monitoring is made available to users.