An approximation for analyzing a broad class of implicitly and explicitly defined estimators

An approximation is presented that can be used to gain insight into the characteristics – such as outlier sensitivity, bias, and variability – of a wide class of estimators, including maximum likelihood and least squares. The approximation relies on a convenient form for an arbitrary order Taylor expansion in a multivariate setting. The implicit function theorem can be used to construct the expansion when the estimator is not defined in closed form. We present several finite-sample and asymptotic properties of such Taylor expansions, which are useful in characterizing the difference between the estimator and the expansion.     

On the sample breakdown robustness of some nonparametric tests

In this paper, relying on the sample breakdown points, we investigate the sample breakdown properties of some nonparametric tests. It is shown that the sample breakdown points of the sign test asymptotically dominate those of the Wilcoxon test for one–sided hypotheses, However, the different conclusion is derived in the case of testing some shrinking neighborhood hypotheses. The breakdown behaviors of the Kolmogorov test and X²–test are also explored. These studies unify or refine some existing breakdown analyses of tests.     

PROPERTIES OF THE MINIMUM POINT OF AN UNBALANCED TWO-SIDED RANDOM WALK

In this paper, properties of minimum point of a unbalanced two-sided random walk are investigated. Under the condition that the parameters at both sides tend to zero at the same order, probabilities that the minimum point is on which side, and the second order expansions for the first two moments of the minimum point are obtained. Applications of these results are very promising. First, they can be used to study the properties of the maximum likelihood estimator for the change point in the large sample case; second, they can be used to study inference problems after CUSUM test.     

Model-based confidence bands for survival functions

This paper focuses on a novel method of developing one-sample confidence bands for survival functions from right censored data. The approach is model-based, relying on a parametric model for the conditional expectation of the censoring indicator given the observed minimum, and derives its strength from easy access to a good-fitting model among a plethora of choices available for binary response data. The substantive methodological contribution is in exploiting a semiparametric estimator of the survival function to produce improved simultaneous confidence bands. To obtain critical values for computing the confidence bands, a two-stage bootstrap approach that combines the classical bootstrap with the more recent model-based regeneration of censoring indicators is proposed and a justification of its asymptotic validity is also provided. Several different confidence bands are studied using the proposed approach. Numerical studies, including robustness of the proposed bands to misspecification, are carried out to check efficacy. The method is illustrated using two lung cancer data sets.     

D-optimal designs for combined polynomial and trigonometric regression on a partial circle

Consider the D-optimal designs for a combined polynomial and trigonometric regression on a partial circle. It is shown that the optimal design is equally supported and the structure of the optimal design depends only on the length of the design interval and the support points are analytic functions of this parameter. Moreover, the Taylor expansion of the optimal support points can be determined efficiently by a recursive procedure. Examples are presented to illustrate the procedures for computing the optimal designs.     

D-Optimum Designs for Optimum Mixture in a Quadratic Log Contrast Model

Optimal designs for estimating the optimum mixing proportions in a quadratic mixture model was first investigated by Pal and Mandal (2006). In this article, similar investigation is carried out when mean response in a mixture experiment is described by a quadratic log contrast model. It is found that in a symmetric subspace of the finite dimensional simplex, there exists a D-optimal design that puts weights at the centroid of the sub-space and the vertices of the experimental domain. The optimality is checked by numerical computation using Equivalence Theorem.     

Consistency of the normal equations

This note provides an alternative proof of consistency of the normal equations by appealing to well-known results in linear programming.     

A Category Representation Paradox

Simple between-group comparisons of category representation percentages can be misleading for investigation of differential group selection procedures—the presence of a strong selection factor can obscure the effects of intermediate factors. This paradoxical effect is easily resolved through elementary application of the Bayes theorem. Because category representation percentages are often convenient and intuitively appealing to the statistically naive, however, there exist diverse and pervasive opportunities for incorrect interpretation with fallacious conclusions. Toxic shock syndrome epidemiological data are used to illustrate the paradox.     

The asymptotic distribution of the partial attributable risk in cross-sectional studies

The partial attributable risk (PAR) has been introduced as a tool for partitioning the responsibility for causing an adverse event between various risk factors. It has arisen from epidemiology, but it is also a valid general risk allocation concept, which can, for example, be applied to data from customer satisfaction surveys. So far, a variance formula for the PAR has been missing so that the confidence intervals were not directly available. This paper provides the asymptotic normal distribution for the PAR determined from a cross-sectional study.