Non linearity arises in statistical inference in various ways, with varying degrees of severity, as an obstacle to statistical analysis. More entrenched forms of nonlinearity often require intensive numerical methods to construct estimators, and the use of root search algorithms, or one-step estimators, is a standard method of solution. This book provides a comprehensive study of nonlinear estimating equations and artificial likelihood's for statistical inference. It provides extensive coverage and comparison of hill climbing algorithms, which when started at points of nonconcavity often have...

Procrustean methods are used to transform one set of data to represent another set of data as closely as possible. The name derived from the Greek myth where Procrustes invited passers-by in for a pleasant meal and a night's rest on a magical bed that would exactly fit any guest. He then either stretched the guest on a rack or cut off their legs to make them fit perfectly into the bed. Theseus turned the tables on Procrustes, fatally adjusting him to fit his own bed. The text is the first systematic overview of Procrustean methods in one volume, presenting a unifying Analysis of Variance...

This new edition of the successful multi-disciplinary text Statistical Modelling in GLIM takes into account new developments in both statistical software and statistical modeling. Including three new chapters on mixture and random effects models, it provides a comprehensive treatment of the theory of statistical modeling with generalized linear models with an emphasis on applications to practical problems and an expanded discussion of statistical theory. A wide range of case studies is also provided, using the normal, binomial Poisson, multinominal, gamma, exponential and Weibull...

This practical introduction to the analysis of data collected from reliability studies offers clear, detailed explanations of the best and most up-to-date techniques available. Topics include survival analysis with covariates, the assessment of systems performance, reliability growth models, dependency (which encompasses both engineering and statistical approaches), and practical aspects of analysis. A wealth of interesting case studies appear throughout the text, lending "real-world" examples to the more theoretical discussions. Throughout, the authors stress the need for investigators to...

This book describes statistical concepts and techniques for evaluating medical diagnostic tests and biomarkers for detecting disease. More generally, the techniques pertain to the statistical classification problem for predicting a dichotomous outcome. Measures for quantifying test accuracy are described including sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, diagnostic likelihood ratios and the Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve that is commonly used for continuous and ordinal valued tests. Statistical procedures are presented for estimating and comparing them. Regression frameworks for...

Originating from a meeting celebrating the 80th birthday of Sir David Cox, the eminent Oxford Scholar whose many important and penetrating contributions to modern statistics have had an extraordinary impact, this collection of papers by major statistical researchers provides an overview of current developments across a wide range of research areas. Contributing authors and topics include: O.E. Barndorff-Nielsen (Aarhus): Statistics and Physics; A.C. Davison (Lausanne): Statistical methods; S. Darby (Oxford): Epidemiology; D. Firth (Warwick): Social Statistics; P. Jall (Canberra):...

Experiments on patients, processes or plants all have random error, making statistical methods essential for their efficient design and analysis. This book presents the theory and methods of optimum experimental design, making them available through the use of SAS programs. Little previous statistical knowledge is assumed. The first part of the book stresses the importance of models in the analysis of data and introduces least squares fitting and simple optimum experimental designs. The second part presents a more detailed discussion of the general theory and of a wide variety of experiments....