Selection of the best in 2×2 factorial designs

Selection of the cell in a 2×2 -factorial design with the greatest mean is considered. A general class of ranking and selection procedures (RSP) is constructed to include methods based on the largest marginal cell means (SP1) or on the largest cell mean (SP3). Using the preference zone approach the minimum probability of a correct solution is found, In this paper a RSP which maximizes the minimum probability of a correct solution over the preference zone is found. In this way selection of the cell with the greatest observed mean is proven to be admissible.     

Certain nonparametric classification rules and their asymptotic efficiencies

Two nonparametric classification rules for e-univariace populations are proposed, one in which the probability of correct classification is a specified number and the other in which one has to evaluate the probability of correct classification. In each case the classification is with respect to the Chernoff and Savage (1958) class of statistics, with possible specialization to populations having different location shifts and different changes of scale. An optimum property, namely the consistency of the classification procedure, is established for the second rule, when the distributions are either fixed or “near” in the Pitman sense and are tending to a common distribution at a specified rate. A measure of asymptotic efficiency is defined for the second rule and its asymptotic efficiency based on the Chernoff-Savage class of statistics relative to the parametric competitors ie the case of location shifts and scale changes is shown to be equal to the analogous Pitman efficiency.     

Applications of a probability inequality to ranking and selection and other related problems

A probability inequality of conditionally independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) random variables obtained recently by the author is applied to ranking and selection problems. It is shown that under both the indifference-zone and the subset formulations, the probability of a correct selection (PCS) is a cumulative probability of conditionally i.i.d, random variables. Therefore bounds on both the PCS and the sample size required can be obtained from that probability inequality. Applications of that inequality to other multiple decision problems are also considered. It is illustrated that general results concerning conditionally i.i.d. random variables are applicable to many problems in multiple decision theory.     

On the relation between Hodges-Lehmann efficiency and Pitman efficiency

The relation between Hodges–Lehmann efficiency and Pitman efficiency is studied in the context of testing one-sided hypotheses about a real-valued parameter. It is first shown that for tests based on sums of independently and identically distributed observations local Hodges-Lehmann efficiency is equivalent to Pitman efficiency. Then, it is proved that this equivalence also carries over to tests based on two broad classes of M -estimators for the location problem. In all cases considered explicit formulas of the Hodges-Lehmann efficacies are obtained.     

On a strengthening of the indifference zone approach to a generalized selection goal

The problem of selecting s out of k given compounts which contains at least c of the t best ones is considered. In the case of underlying distribution families with location or scale parameter it is shown that the indiffence zone approach can be strengthened to confidence statements for the parameters of the selected components. These confidence statements are valid over the entire parameter space without decreasing the infimum of the probability of a correct selection.     

Conditions under which F. {N } = for tong's adaptive solution to ranking and selection problems

Tong ‘1978’ proposed an adaptive approach as an alternative to the classical indifference-zone formulation of the problems of ranking and selection. With a fixed pre-selected y*‘1/k < y* < 1’ his procedure calls for the termination of vector-at-a-time sampling when the estimated probability of a correct selection exceeds Y* for the first time. The purpose of this note is to show that for the case of two normal populations with common known variance, the expected number of vector-observations required by Tong's procedure to terminate sampling approaches infinity as the two population means approach equality for Y* ≥ 0.8413.It is conjectured that this phenomenon also persists if the two largest of K ≥3 population means approach equality. Since in the typical ranking and selection setting it usually is assumed that the experimenter has no knowledge concerning the differences between the population means, the experimenter who uses Tong's procedure clearly does so at his own risk.     

Stochastic equivalence of ranking methods

The asymptotic behavior of linear rank statistics for comparing the locations of two populations, where the observations are ranked jointly with other populations, is considered. Under certain conditions, the asymptotic behavior of these statistics does not depend on which other populations are included in the ranking. In particular, the difference of a pair of these statistics, with the same score function, but based on two different rankings, converges to zero in probability under Pitman alternatives and Chernoff-Savage conditions on the scores and underlying distributions.     

Asymptotic optimality of a class of rank tests for replicated latin-square designs

This paper is concerned with the class of conditionally distribution-free rank tests introduced by Monga and Tardif (1994) for replicated Latin-square designs. It is possible to proceed with an enlargement of this class by making use of the method of ranking after substitution. The unconditional asymptotic behaviour of any member of the enlarged class is derived under the null hypothesis of no treatment effects as well as under a sequence of contiguous alternatives. This enables the establishment of the asymptotic Pitman efficiency of any member relative to the asymptotically minimax test and to conclude that at least one member of the class is asymptotically as efficient as the latter.     

Truncation of the Bechhofer-Kiefer-Sobel sequential procedure for selecting the multinomial event which has the largest probability

In this article we study the effect of truncation on the performance of an open vector-at-a-time sequential sampling procedure (P^* _B) proposed by Bechhofer, Kiefer and Sobel , for selecting the multinomial event which has the largest probability. The performance of the truncated version (P^{* B} _T) is compared to that of the original basic procedure (P^* _B). The performance characteristics studied include the probability of a correct selection, the expected number of vector-observations (n) to terminate sampling, and the variance of n. Both procedures guarantee the specified probability of a correct selection. Exact results and Monte Carlo sampling results are obtained. It is shown that P^* _{B T}is far superior to P^* _B in terms of E{n} and Var{n}, particularly when the event probabilities are equal.The performance of P^* _{B T} is also compared to that of a closed vector-at-a-time sequential sampling procedure proposed for the same problem by Ramey and Alam; this procedure has here to fore been claimed to be the best one for this problem. It is shown that p^* _{B T} is superior to the Ramey-Alam procedure for most of the specifications of practical interest.     

Estimation of population mean and variance in flock management: a ranked set sampling approach in a finite population setting

Ranked set sampling is a sampling technique that provides substantial cost efficiency in experiments where a quick, inexpensive ranking procedure is available to rank the units prior to formal, expensive and precise measurements. Although the theoretical properties and relative efficiencies of this approach with respect to simple random sampling have been extensively studied in the literature for the infinite population setting, the use of ranked set sampling methods has not yet been explored widely for finite populations. The purpose of this study is to use sheep population data from the Research Farm at Ataturk University, Erzurum, Turkey, to demonstrate the practical benefits of ranked set sampling procedures relative to the more commonly used simple random sampling estimation of the population mean and variance in a finite population. It is shown that the ranked set sample mean remains unbiased for the population mean as is the case for the infinite population, but the variance estimators are unbiased only with use of the finite population correction factor. Both mean and variance estimators provide substantial improvement over their simple random sample counterparts.     

Simultaneous upper confidence bounds for distances from the best two-parameter exponentlal distribution

Consider k independent exponential distributions possibly with different location parameters and a common scale parameter. If the best population is defined to be the one having the largest mean or equivalently having the largest location parameter, we then derive a set of simultaneous upper confidence bounds for all distances of the means from the largest one. These bounds not only can serve as confidence intervals for all distances from the largest parameter but they also can be used to identify the best population. Relationships to ranking and selection procedures are pointed out. Cases in which scale parameters are known or unknown and samples are complete or type II censored are considered. Tables to implement this procedure are given.     

△-correct decision for location and scale parameters

In selecting t out of k populations, a △-correct decision is said to be made if the smallest location parameter for the selected populations is not more than △ below the largest location parameter for the non-selected populations. (For seal? parameters there is a similar definition in terms of ratio3.) The minimum probability of △-correct decision over the entire parameter pace is shown to be equal to the minimum probability of correct selection over a preference zone determined by △.     

An asymptotic distribution-free selection procedure for a two-way layout problem

This paper deals with an asymptotic distribution-free subset selection procedure for a two-way layout problem. The treatment effect with the largest unknown value is of interest to us. The block effect is a nuisance parameter in this problem. The proposed procedure is based on the Hodges-Lehmann estimators of location parameters. The asymptotic relative efficiency of the proposed procedure with the normal means procedure is evaluated. It is shown that the proposed procedure has a high efficiency.     

On selecting from k finite populations the population with the largest α -quantile

Several procedures for ranking populations according to the quantile of a given order have been discussed in the literature. These procedures deal with continuous distributions. This paper deals with the problem of selecting a population with the largest α-quantile from k ≥ 2 finite populatins, where the size of each population is known. A selection rule is given based on the sample quantiles, where he samples are drawn without replacement. A formula for the minimum probability of a correct selection for the given rule, for a certain configuration of the population α-quantiles, is given in terms of the sample numbers.     

Designing selection experiments with bernoulli populations

This paper is concerned with a fixed size subset selection problem for Bernoulli populations in the framework of the indifference zone approach. The goal is to select s populationswhich contain at least c of those with the t largest success probabilities. In order to control the probability of correct selection over the preference zone extensive tables of exact minimum sample sizes have been prepared to implement the single-stage procedure generalized from the well-known Sobel-Huyett procedure. It is shown how the tables can also be employed to design certain closedsequential procedures. These procedures curtail the sampling process of the single-stage procedureand may differ in their sampling rules. Two procedures working with play-the-winner rules are described in detail     

SELECTION PROCEDURES FOR SCALE PARAMETERS USING TWO-SAMPLE U-STATISTICS

Let be k independent populations having the same known quantile of order p (0 p 1) and let F(x)=F(x/_i) be the absolutely continuous cumulative distribution function of the ith population indexed by the scale parameter ₁, i = 1,…, k. We propose subset selection procedures based on two-sample U-statistics for selecting a subset of k populations containing the one associated with the smallest scale parameter. These procedures are compared with the subset selection procedures based on two-sample linear rank statistics given by Gill & Mehta (1989) in the sense of Pitman asymptotic relative efficiency, with interesting results.     

New imperfect rankings models for ranked set sampling

Ranked set sampling is a sampling approach that leads to improved statistical inference in situations where the units to be sampled can be ranked relative to each other prior to formal measurement. This ranking may be done either by subjective judgment or according to an auxiliary variable, and it need not be completely accurate. In fact, results in the literature have shown that no matter how poor the quality of the ranking, procedures based on ranked set sampling tend to be at least as efficient as procedures based on simple random sampling. However, efforts to quantify the gains in efficiency for ranked set sampling procedures have been hampered by a shortage of available models for imperfect rankings. In this paper, we introduce a new class of models for imperfect rankings, and we provide a rigorous proof that essentially any reasonable model for imperfect rankings is a limit of models in this class. We then describe a specific, easily applied method for selecting an appropriate imperfect rankings model from the class.     

A comparison of two procedures to select the best binomial population with sequential elimination of inferior populations

We compare the selection procedure of Levin and Robbins [1981. Selecting the highest probability in binomial or multinomial trials. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 78, 4663–4666.] with the procedure of Paulson [1994. Sequential procedures for selecting the best one of k Koopman–Darmois populations. Sequential Analysis 13, 207–220.] to identify the best of several binomial populations with sequential elimination of unlikely candidates. We point out situations in which the Levin–Robbins procedure dominates the Paulson procedure in terms of the duration of the experiment, the expected total number of observations, and the expected number of failures. Because the Levin–Robbins procedure is also easier to implement than Paulson's procedure and gives a tighter guarantee for the probability of correct selection, we conclude that it holds a competitive edge over Paulson's procedure.     

Selecting logistic populations using the sample medians

This paper is concerned primarily with subset selection procedures based on the sample mediansof logistic populations. A procedure is given which chooses a nonempty subset from among kindependent logistic populations, having a common known variance, so that the populations with thelargest location parameter is contained in the subset with a pre‐specified probability. Theconstants required to apply the median procedure with small sample sizes (≤= 19) are tabulated and can also be used to construct simultaneous confidence intervals. Asymptotic formulae are provided for application with larger sample sizes. It is shown that, under certain situations, rules based on the median are substantially more efficient than analogous procedures based either on sample means or on the sum of joint ranks.     

Sign test based on k-tuple general ranked set samples

ABSTRACT

The sign test based on the k-tuple ranked set samples is discussed here. We first derive the distribution of the k-tuple ranked set sample sign test statistic, and then the asymptotic distribution is also obtained. We then compare its performance with its counterparts based on simple random sample and classical ranked set sample. The asymptotic relative efficiency and the power are then derived. Finally, the effect of imperfect ranking on the procedure is assessed.