arXiv subjects

Jiahua Chen

Publications and source records attributed to Jiahua Chen.

29 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2019

Test for homogeneity with unordered paired observations

In some applications, an experimental unit is composed of two distinct but related subunits. The response from such a unit is $(X_{1}, X_{2})$ but we observe only $Y_1 = \min\{X_{1},X_{2}\}$ and $Y_2 = \max\{X_{1},X_{2}\}$, i.e., the subunit identities are not observed. We call $(Y_1, Y_2)$ unordered paired observations. Based on unordered paired observations $\{(Y_{1i}, Y_{2i})\}_{i=1}^n$, we are interested in whether the marginal distributions for $X_1$ and $X_2$ are identical. Testing methods are available in the literature under the assumptions that $Var(X_1) = Var(X_2)$ and $Cov(X_1, X_2) = 0$. However, by extensive simulation studies, we observe that when one or both assumptions are violated, these methods have inflated type I errors or much lower powers. In this paper, we study the likelihood ratio test statistics for various scenarios and explore their limiting distributions without these restrictive assumptions. Furthermore, we develop Bartlett correction formulae for these statistics to enhance their precision when the sample size is not large. Simulation studies and real-data examples are used to illustrate the efficacy of the proposed methods.

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arXiv2018

Homogeneity testing under finite location-scale mixtures

The testing problem for the order of finite mixture models has a long history and remains an active research topic. Since Ghosh and Sen (1985) revealed the hard-to-manage asymptotic properties of the likelihood ratio test, there has been marked progress. The most successful attempts include the modified likelihood ratio test and the EM-test, which lead to neat solutions for finite mixtures of univariate normal distributions, finite mixtures of single-parameter distributions, and several mixture-like models. The problem remains challenging, and there is still no generic solution for location-scale mixtures. In this paper, we provide an EM-test solution for homogeneity for finite mixtures of location-scale family distributions. This EM-test has nonstandard limiting distributions, but we are able to find the critical values numerically. We use computer experiments to obtain appropriate values for the tuning parameters. A simulation study shows that the fine-tuned EM-test has close to nominal type I errors and very good power properties. Two application examples are included to demonstrate the performance of the EM-test.

stat.ME↗

arXiv2017

Small Area Quantile Estimation

Sample surveys are widely used to obtain information about totals, means, medians, and other parameters of finite populations. In many applications, similar information is desired for subpopulations such as individuals in specific geographic areas and socio-demographic groups. When the surveys are conducted at national or similarly high levels, a probability sampling can result in just a few sampling units from many unplanned subpopulations at the design stage. Cost considerations may also lead to low sample sizes from individual small areas. Estimating the parameters of these subpopulations with satisfactory precision and evaluating their accuracy are serious challenges for statisticians. To overcome the difficulties, statisticians resort to pooling information across the small areas via suitable model assumptions, administrative archives, and census data. In this paper, we develop an array of small area quantile estimators. The novelty is the introduction of a semiparametric density ratio model for the error distribution in the unit-level nested error regression model. In contrast, the existing methods are usually most effective when the response values are jointly normal. We also propose a resampling procedure for estimating the mean square errors of these estimators. Simulation results indicate that the new methods have superior performance when the population distributions are skewed and remain competitive otherwise.

stat.ME↗

arXiv2017

Multi-parameter One-Sided Monitoring Test

Multi-parameter one-sided hypothesis test problems arise naturally in many applications. We are particularly interested in effective tests for monitoring multiple quality indices in forestry products. Our search reveals that there are many effective statistical methods in the literature for normal data, and that they can easily be adapted for non-normal data. We find that the beautiful likelihood ratio test is unsatisfactory, because in order to control the size, it must cope with the least favorable distributions at the cost of power. In this paper, we find a novel way to slightly ease the size control, obtaining a much more powerful test. Simulation confirms that the new test retains good control of the type I error and is markedly more powerful than the likelihood ratio test as well as many competitors based on normal data. The new method performs well in the context of monitoring multiple quality indices.

math.ST↗

arXiv2016

Consistency of the MLE under mixture models

The large-sample properties of likelihood-based statistical inference under mixture models have received much attention from statisticians. Although the consistency of the nonparametric MLE is regarded as a standard conclusion, many researchers ignore the precise conditions required on the mixture model. An incorrect claim of consistency can lead to false conclusions even if the mixture model under investigation seems well behaved. Under a finite normal mixture model, for instance, the consistency of the plain MLE is often erroneously assumed in spite of recent research breakthroughs. This paper streamlines the consistency results for the nonparametric MLE in general, and in particular for the penalized MLE under finite normal mixture models.

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arXiv2015

Hypothesis testing in the presence of multiple samples under density ratio models

This paper presents a hypothesis testing method given independent samples from a number of connected populations. The method is motivated by a forestry project for monitoring change in the strength of lumber. Traditional practice has been built upon nonparametric methods which ignore the fact that these populations are connected. By pooling the information in multiple samples through a density ratio model, the proposed empirical likelihood method leads to a more efficient inference and therefore reduces the cost in applications. The new test has a classical chi-square null limiting distribution. Its power function is obtained under a class of local alternatives. The local power is found increased even when some underlying populations are unrelated to the hypothesis of interest. Simulation studies confirm that this test has better power properties than potential competitors, and is robust to model misspecification. An application example to lumber strength is included.

math.ST↗

arXiv2013

Quantile and quantile-function estimations under density ratio model

Population quantiles and their functions are important parameters in many applications. For example, the lower quantiles often serve as crucial quality indices for forestry products. Given several independent samples from populations satisfying the density ratio model, we investigate the properties of empirical likelihood (EL) based inferences. The induced EL quantile estimators are shown to admit a Bahadur representation that leads to asymptotically valid confidence intervals for functions of quantiles. We rigorously prove that EL quantiles based on all the samples are more efficient than empirical quantiles based on individual samples. A simulation study shows that the EL quantiles and their functions have superior performance when the density ratio model assumption is satisfied and when it is mildly violated. An example is used to demonstrate the new method and the potential cost savings.

math.ST↗

arXiv2011

A Partial Order on Uncertainty and Information

Information and uncertainty are closely related and extensively studied concepts in a number of scientific disciplines such as communication theory, probability theory, and statistics. Increasing the information arguably reduces the uncertainty on a given random subject. Consider the uncertainty measure as the variance of a random variable. Given the information that its outcome is in an interval, the uncertainty is expected to reduce when the interval shrinks. This proposition is not generally true. In this paper, we provide a necessary and sufficient condition for this proposition when the random variable is absolutely continuous or integer valued. We also give a similar result on Shannon information.

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arXiv2010

Adjusted empirical likelihood with high-order precision

Empirical likelihood is a popular nonparametric or semi-parametric statistical method with many nice statistical properties. Yet when the sample size is small, or the dimension of the accompanying estimating function is high, the application of the empirical likelihood method can be hindered by low precision of the chi-square approximation and by nonexistence of solutions to the estimating equations. In this paper, we show that the adjusted empirical likelihood is effective at addressing both problems. With a specific level of adjustment, the adjusted empirical likelihood achieves the high-order precision of the Bartlett correction, in addition to the advantage of a guaranteed solution to the estimating equations. Simulation results indicate that the confidence regions constructed by the adjusted empirical likelihood have coverage probabilities comparable to or substantially more accurate than the original empirical likelihood enhanced by the Bartlett correction.

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arXiv2009

Hypothesis test for normal mixture models: The EM approach

Normal mixture distributions are arguably the most important mixture models, and also the most technically challenging. The likelihood function of the normal mixture model is unbounded based on a set of random samples, unless an artificial bound is placed on its component variance parameter. Moreover, the model is not strongly identifiable so it is hard to differentiate between over dispersion caused by the presence of a mixture and that caused by a large variance, and it has infinite Fisher information with respect to mixing proportions. There has been extensive research on finite normal mixture models, but much of it addresses merely consistency of the point estimation or useful practical procedures, and many results require undesirable restrictions on the parameter space. We show that an EM-test for homogeneity is effective at overcoming many challenges in the context of finite normal mixtures. We find that the limiting distribution of the EM-test is a simple function of the $0.5χ^2_0+0.5χ^2_1$ and $χ^2_1$ distributions when the mixing variances are equal but unknown and the $χ^2_2$ when variances are unequal and unknown. Simulations show that the limiting distributions approximate the finite sample distribution satisfactorily. Two genetic examples are used to illustrate the application of the EM-test.

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arXiv2008

Inference for Multivariate Normal Mixtures

Multivariate normal mixtures provide a flexible model for high-dimensional data. They are widely used in statistical genetics, statistical finance, and other disciplines. Due to the unboundedness of the likelihood function, classical likelihood-based methods, which may have nice practical properties, are inconsistent. In this paper, we recommend a penalized likelihood method for estimating the mixing distribution. We show that the maximum penalized likelihood estimator is strongly consistent when the number of components has a known upper bound. We also explore a convenient EM-algorithm for computing the maximum penalized likelihood estimator. Extensive simulations are conducted to explore the effectiveness and the practical limitations of both the new method and the ratified maximum likelihood estimators. Guidelines are provided based on the simulation results.

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