arXiv subjects

Hok Kan Ling

Publications and source records attributed to Hok Kan Ling.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Likelihood-based Spacings Goodness-of-Fit Statistics for Univariate Shape-constrained Densities

A variety of statistics based on sample spacings have been studied for testing goodness-of-fit to parametric distributions. To test the goodness-of-fit to a nonparametric class of univariate shape-constrained densities, including widely studied classes such as k-monotone and log-concave densities, a likelihood ratio test with a working alternative density estimate based on the spacings of the observations is considered, and is shown to be asymptotically normal and distribution-free under the null, consistent under fixed and certain local alternatives, and admits bootstrap calibration. The distribution-freeness under the null comes from the fact that the asymptotic dominant term depends only on a function of the spacings of transformed outcomes that are uniformly distributed. Applications and extensions of theoretical results in the literature of shape-constrained estimation are required to show that the average log-density ratio converges to zero at a faster rate than the sample spacing term under the null, and diverges under the alternatives. Numerical studies are conducted to demonstrate that the test is applicable to various classes of shape-constrained densities and has a good balance between type-I error control under the null and power under alternative distributions.

math.ST↗

arXiv2026

A Dynamic Factor Model for Multivariate Counting Process Data

We propose a dynamic multiplicative factor model for process data, which arise from complex problem-solving items, an emerging testing mode in large-scale educational assessment. The proposed model can be viewed as an extension of the classical frailty models developed in survival analysis for multivariate recurrent event times, but with two important distinctions: (i) the factor (frailty) is of primary interest; (ii) covariates are internal and embedded in the factor. It allows us to explore low dimensional structure with meaningful interpretation. We show that the proposed model is identifiable and that the maximum likelihood estimators are consistent and asymptotically normal. Furthermore, to obtain a parsimonious model and to improve interpretation of parameters therein, variable selection and estimation for both fixed and random effects are developed through suitable penalisation. The computation is carried out by a stochastic EM combined with the Metropolis algorithm and the coordinate descent algorithm. Simulation studies demonstrate that the proposed approach provides an effective recovery of the true structure. The proposed method is applied to analysing the log-file of an item from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), where meaningful relationships are discovered.

stat.ME↗

arXiv2025

Generalized Taylor's Law for Dependent and Heterogeneous Heavy-Tailed Data

Taylor's law, also known as fluctuation scaling in physics and the power-law variance function in statistics, is an empirical pattern widely observed across fields including ecology, physics, finance, and epidemiology. It states that the variance of a sample scales as a power function of the mean of the sample. We study generalizations of Taylor's law in the context of heavy-tailed distributions with infinite mean and variance. We establish the probabilistic limit and analyze the associated convergence rates. Our results extend the existing literature by relaxing the i.i.d. assumption to accommodate dependence and heterogeneity among the random variables. This generalization enables application to dependent data such as time series and network-structured data. We support the theoretical developments by extensive simulations, and the practical relevance through applications to real network data.

math.ST↗

arXiv2024

Nonparametric Estimation for a Log-concave Distribution Function with Interval-censored Data

We consider the nonparametric maximum likelihood estimation for the underlying event time based on mixed-case interval-censored data, under a log-concavity assumption on its distribution function. This generalized framework relaxes the assumptions of a log-concave density function or a concave distribution function considered in the literature. A log-concave distribution function is fulfilled by many common parametric families in survival analysis and also allows for multi-modal and heavy-tailed distributions. We establish the existence, uniqueness and consistency of the log-concave nonparametric maximum likelihood estimator. A computationally efficient procedure that combines an active set algorithm with the iterative convex minorant algorithm is proposed. Numerical studies demonstrate the advantages of incorporating additional shape constraint compared to the unconstrained nonparametric maximum likelihood estimator. The results also show that our method achieves a balance between efficiency and robustness compared to assuming log-concavity in the density. An R package iclogcondist is developed to implement our proposed method.

stat.CO↗

arXiv2024

Distance Correlation in Multiple Biased Sampling Models

Testing the independence between random vectors is a fundamental problem in statistics. Distance correlation, a recently popular dependence measure, is universally consistent for testing independence against all distributions with finite moments. However, when data are subject to selection bias or collected from multiple sources or schemes, spurious dependence may arise. This creates a need for methods that can effectively utilize data from different sources and correct these biases. In this paper, we study the estimation of distance covariance and distance correlation under multiple biased sampling models, which provide a natural framework for addressing these issues. Theoretical properties, including the strong consistency and asymptotic null distributions of the distance covariance and correlation estimators, and the rate at which the test statistic diverges under sequences of alternatives approaching the null, are established. A weighted permutation procedure is proposed to determine the critical value of the independence test. Simulation studies demonstrate that our approach improves both the estimation of distance correlation and the power of the test.

stat.ME↗

arXiv2023

An Effective Multivariate Normality Test via Hessians of Empirical Cumulant Generating Functions

In this article, we propose a new class of consistent tests for $p$-variate normality. These tests are based on the characterization of the standard multivariate normal distribution, that the Hessian of the corresponding cumulant generating function is identical to the $p\times p$ identity matrix and the idea of decomposing the information from the joint distribution into the dependence copula and all marginal distributions. Under the null hypothesis of multivariate normality, our proposed test statistic is independent of the unknown mean vector and covariance matrix so that the distribution-free critical value of the test can be obtained by Monte Carlo simulation. We also derive the asymptotic null distribution of proposed test statistic and establish the consistency of the test against different fixed alternatives. Last but not least, a comprehensive and extensive Monte Carlo study also illustrates that our test is a superb yet computationally convenient competitor to many well-known existing test statistics.

stat.ME↗