Improved likelihood ratio tests and pearson chi-square tests for independence in two dimensional contingency tables

When an I×J contingency table has many cells having very small frequencies, the usual chi-square approximation to the upper tail of the likelihood ratio goodness-of-fit statistic, G² and Pearson chi-square statistic, X², for testing independence, are not satisfactory. In this paper we consider the problem of adjusting G² and X². Suitable adjustments are suggested on the basis of analytical investigation of asymptotic bias terms for G² and X². A Monte Carlo simulation is performed for several tables to assess the adjustments of G² and X² in order to obtain a closer approximation to the nominal level of significance.     

Computational techniques in the study of discrete distributions generated by the function 3 F 2

In this paper, we present the use of computational aspects in the study of the family of discrete distributions generated by the hypergeometric function ₃ F ₂, which is a univariate extension of the Gaussian hypergeometric function. These computational techniques allow us to obtain the probability mass function, the mean, the mode in an explicit form as well as the knowledge of the most important properties. We can also obtain a summation result and implement different methods of estimation. Finally, we present an example of an application to real data already fitted by other discrete distributions.     

Testing equality of correlation coefficients in two populations via permutation methods

The present paper investigates the asymptotic behaviour of a studentized permutation test for testing equality of (Pearson) correlation coefficients in two populations. It is shown that this test is asymptotically of exact level and has the same power for contiguous alternatives as the corresponding asymptotic test. As a by-product we specify the assumptions needed for the validity of the permutation test suggested in Sakaori (2002). A small simulation study compares the finite sample properties of the considered tests.     

Improved exact confidence intervals for a proportion using ranked-set sampling

We develop new exact confidence intervals for a proportion using ranked-set sampling (RSS). The existing intervals arise from applying the method of Clopper and Pearson (1934) to the total number of successes. We improve on the existing intervals by using the method of Blaker (2000) and by replacing the total number of successes with the maximum likelihood estimator of the proportion. The new intervals outperform the existing intervals in terms of average expected length, and they are also good in an absolute sense, as they come within a few percentage points of a new theoretical bound on the average expected length. Like the existing intervals, the new intervals use a perfect rankings assumption. They are no longer exact under imperfect rankings, but provide coverage close to nominal for mild departures from perfect rankings.     

SCALE MIXTURES DISTRIBUTIONS IN STATISTICAL MODELLING

This paper presents two types of symmetric scale mixture probability distributions which include the normal, Student t, Pearson Type VII, variance gamma, exponential power, uniform power and generalized t (GT) distributions. Expressing a symmetric distribution into a scale mixture form enables efficient Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithms in the implementation of complicated statistical models. Moreover, the mixing parameters, a by-product of the scale mixture representation, can be used to identify possible outliers. This paper also proposes a uniform scale mixture representation for the GT density, and demonstrates how this density representation alleviates the computational burden of the Gibbs sampler.     

On a test of independence for contingency tables

Using the concept of distributional distance, a test statistic is proposed FOR the hypothesis of independence in multidimensional contingency tables. A Monte Carlo Study is done to empirically compare the power of the proposed test to the Pearson x² and the likelihood ratio test- Further, the nonnull distribution under various spike alternatives is tabulated     

Further approximate pearson percentage points and Cornish-Fisher

A set of 19-point rational fraction approximants for Pearson distributions at levels a = 0.025, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, and 0.975 is added to a previous study (Biometrika, 1979). The relation to a Cornish-Fisher expansion is discussed and advice proffered on interpolation for a new deviate or new level.     

Moments of the quartic assignment statistic with an application to multiple regression

We present the first three exact moments of the symmetric quartic assignment statistic. Efficient computational formulas have been derived to overcome severe difficulties in third moment calculations. Two examples illustrate applications of the quartic assignment statistic: evaluation of significant “clustering” or “mixing”; and distribution-free tests for equality of several planar regression models. This article extends previous results on the cubic assignment statistic in Iyer and Vecchia (1989).     

Confidence and Likelihood*

Confidence intervals for a single parameter are spanned by quantiles of a confidence distribution, and one‐sided p‐values are cumulative confidences. Confidence distributions are thus a unifying format for representing frequentist inference for a single parameter. The confidence distribution, which depends on data, is exact (unbiased) when its cumulative distribution function evaluated at the true parameter is uniformly distributed over the unit interval. A new version of the Neyman–Pearson lemma is given, showing that the confidence distribution based on the natural statistic in exponential models with continuous data is less dispersed than all other confidence distributions, regardless of how dispersion is measured. Approximations are necessary for discrete data, and also in many models with nuisance parameters. Approximate pivots might then be useful. A pivot based on a scalar statistic determines a likelihood in the parameter of interest along with a confidence distribution. This proper likelihood is reduced of all nuisance parameters, and is appropriate for meta‐analysis and updating of information. The reduced likelihood is generally different from the confidence density. Confidence distributions and reduced likelihoods are rooted in Fisher–Neyman statistics. This frequentist methodology has many of the Bayesian attractions, and the two approaches are briefly compared. Concepts, methods and techniques of this brand of Fisher–Neyman statistics are presented. Asymptotics and bootstrapping are used to find pivots and their distributions, and hence reduced likelihoods and confidence distributions. A simple form of inverting bootstrap distributions to approximate pivots of the abc type is proposed. Our material is illustrated in a number of examples and in an application to multiple capture data for bowhead whales.     

On the influence of misclassified data on results of goodness of fit testing

In this paper we focus on the chi-square test of goodness of fit, which compares an observed discrete distribution to an expected known one. We show that the results of this test, using the common Pearson statistic, are very sensitive to misclassified observations between two or more categories. We also propose a general rule of thumb for analysing data set stability with respect to such classification errors. Practical analysis of a real example illustrates our purpose.