Some Small-Sample Properties of the Student t Confidence Intervals

For the two-sided Student t confidence interval for the mean of a normal distribution there is, for any sample size, a sufficiently large confidence level that ensures that the interval covers all the observations; there are also sufficiently small confidence levels guaranteeing, respectively, that (a) the interval does not cover all the observations and (b) the interval lies within the extreme observations. Necessary and sufficient conditions are also obtained for the width of the confidence interval to always exceed the sample range, as well as for the reverse inequality. Some implications of the results are discussed.     

A Note on parameter and standard error estimation in adaptive robust regression

This paper introduces practical methods of parameter and standard error estimation for adaptive robust regression where errors are assumed to be from a normal/independent family of distributions. In particular, generalized EM algorithms (GEM) are considered for the two cases of t and slash families of distributions. For the t family, a one step method is proposed to estimate the degree of freedom parameter. Use of empirical information is suggested for standard error estimation. It is shown that this choice leads to standard errors that can be obtained as a by-product of the GEM algorithm. The proposed methods, as discussed, can be implemented in most available nonlinear regression programs. Details of implementation in SAS NLIN are given using two specific examples.     

Alternative beta estimation for the market model using partially adaptive techniques

The leptokurtosls of many security market return distributions can contaminate ordinary least squares estimates of the β coefficient of the market model. Partially adaptive estimation techniques accommodate the possibility of fat tailed distributions. this methodology limits the influence of extremely large residuals and yields estimates which are both statistically and practically different from ordinary least squares.     

Identification of out of control quality characteristics in a multivariate manufacturing environment

There are many instances in which the quality of a product or constancy of a process is determined by the joint levels of several attributes or properties. During the conduct of such a process or the production of such a product, one wishes to detect as quickly as possible any departure from a satisfactory state, while at the same time identifying which attributes are responsible for the deviation. In most cases of practical interest, however, there exist correlations among the several properties of interest; this makes it advisable to monitor certain aggregate characteristics of the process, rather than observing its various components separately. When the mean vector of the quality attributes is the major concern, this aggregate monitoring function is most commonly implemented via a T ² chart. The dependencies among attributes, however, complicate the determination of which are responsible when a deviation occurs. This paper presents an approach to help identify aberrant variables when Shewhart type multivariate control charts based on Hotelling's T ² are in use.     

A monte carlo study on the robustness of the two-sample sequential t test

The robustness of the two-sample sequentla1 t test was studied against departures from normality and equality of variances The effect of skewness and kurtosis of the underlying distribution on the test 1s relatively mild but the effect of heteroscedasticity serious.     

Robust variable selection in finite mixture of regression models using the t distribution

Abstract

Variable selection in finite mixture of regression (FMR) models is frequently used in statistical modeling. The majority of applications of variable selection in FMR models use a normal distribution for regression error. Such assumptions are unsuitable for a set of data containing a group or groups of observations with heavy tails and outliers. In this paper, we introduce a robust variable selection procedure for FMR models using the t distribution. With appropriate selection of the tuning parameters, the consistency and the oracle property of the regularized estimators are established. To estimate the parameters of the model, we develop an EM algorithm for numerical computations and a method for selecting tuning parameters adaptively. The parameter estimation performance of the proposed model is evaluated through simulation studies. The application of the proposed model is illustrated by analyzing a real data set.     

An integral representation technique for calculating general multivariate probabilities with an application to multivariate x2

Recently in Dutt (1973, (1975), intgral representations over (0,A) were obtained for upper and lover multivariate normal and the probilities. It was pointed out that these integral representaitons when evaluated by Gauss-Hermite uadrature yield rapid and accurate numerical results.

Here integral representaitons, based on an integral formula due to Gurland (1948), are indicated for arbitrary multivariate probabilities. Application of this general representaion for computing multivariate x2 probabilities is discussed and numerical results using Gaussian quadrature are given for the bivariate and equicorre lated trivariate cases. Applications to the multivariate densities studied by Miller (1965) are also included     

C337. Misspecified location and scale. 11. independence of and s2

A hierarchical Bayesian approach to the problem of estimating the largest normal mean is considered. Calculation of the posterior mean and the posterior variance involves, at worst, 3-dimensional numerical integration, for which an efficient Monte Carlo method of evaluation is given. An example is presented to illustrate the methodology. In the two populations case, computation of the posterior estimates can be substantially simplified and in special cases can actually be performed using closed form solutions. A simulation study has been done to compare mean square errors of some hierarchical Bayesian estimators that are expressed in closed forms and several existing estimators of the larger mean.     

Characteristic function of the SGT distribution

An explicit closed form is derived for the characteristic function for the skew generalized t distribution studied by Arslan and Genç [The skew generalized t (SGT) distribution as the scale mixture of a skew exponential power distribution and its applications in robust estimation, Statistics 43(5) (2009), pp. 481–498]. The expression involves the Wright generalized hypergeometric Ψ–function.