Decision theory results for one-sided multiple comparison procedures

Abstract

A resurgence of interest in multiple hypothesis testing has occurred in the last decade. Motivated by studies in genomics, microarrays, DNA sequencing, drug screening, clinical trials, bioassays, education and psychology, statisticians have been devoting considerable research energy in an effort to properly analyze multiple endpoint data. In response to new applications, new criteria and new methodology, many ad hoc procedures have emerged. The classical requirement has been to use procedures which control the strong familywise error rate (FWE) at some predetermined level α. That is, the probability of any false rejection of a true null hypothesis should be less than or equal to α. Finding desirable and powerful multiple test procedures is difficult under this requirement. One of the more recent ideas is concerned with controlling the false discovery rate (FDR), that is, the expected proportion of rejected hypotheses which are, in fact, true. Many multiple test procedures do control the FDR. A much earlier approach to multiple testing was formulated by Lehmann [Ann. Math. Statist. 23 (1952) 541-552 and 28 (1957) 1-25]. Lehmann's approach is decision theoretic and he treats the multiple endpoints problem as a 2^k finite action problem when there are k endpoints. This approach is appealing since unlike the FWE and FDR criteria, the finite action approach pays attention to false acceptances as well as false rejections.