Aspects of Statistical Inference

A fascinating investigation into the foundations of statistical inference This publication examines the distinct philosophical foundations of different statistical modes of parametric inference. Unlike many other texts that focus on methodology and applications, this book focuses on a rather unique combination of theoretical and foundational aspects that underlie the field of statistical inference. Readers gain a deeper understanding of the evolution and underlying logic of each mode as well as each mode's strengths and weaknesses. The book begins with fascinating highlights from the history of statistical inference. Readers are given historical examples of statistical reasoning used to address practical problems that arose throughout the centuries. Next, the book goes on to scrutinize four major modes of statistical inference: * Frequentist * Likelihood * Fiducial * Bayesian The author provides readers with specific examples and counterexamples of situations and datasets where the modes yield both similar and dissimilar results, including a violation of the likelihood principle in which Bayesian and likelihood methods differ from frequentist methods. Each example is followed by a detailed discussion of why the results may have varied from one mode to another, helping the reader to gain a greater understanding of each mode and how it works. Moreover, the author provides considerable mathematical detail on certain points to highlight key aspects of theoretical development. The author's writing style and use of examples make the text clear and engaging. This book is fundamental reading for graduate-level students in statistics as well as anyone with an interest in the foundations of statistics and the principles underlying statistical inference, including students in mathematics and the philosophy of science. Readers with a background in theoretical statistics will find the text both accessible and absorbing.

An up-to-date approach to understanding statistical inference Statistical inference is finding useful applications in numerous fields, from sociology and econometrics to biostatistics. This volume enables professionals in these and related fields to master the concepts of statistical inference under inequality constraints and to apply the theory to problems in a variety of areas. Constrained Statistical Inference: Order, Inequality, and Shape Constraints provides a unified and up-to-date treatment of the methodology. It clearly illustrates concepts with practical examples from a variety of fields, focusing on sociology, econometrics, and biostatistics. The authors also discuss a broad range of other inequality-constrained inference problems that do not fit well in the contemplated unified framework, providing a meaningful way for readers to comprehend methodological resolutions. Chapter coverage includes: Population means and isotonic regression Inequality-constrained tests on normal means Tests in general parametric models Likelihood and alternatives Analysis of categorical data Inference on monotone density function, unimodal density function, shape constraints, and DMRL functions Bayesian perspectives, including Stein’s Paradox, shrinkage estimation, and decision theory

This fully updated and revised third edition, presents a wide ranging, balanced account of the fundamental issues across the full spectrum of inference and decision-making. Much has happened in this field since the second edition was published: for example, Bayesian inferential procedures have not only gained acceptance but are often the preferred methodology. This book will be welcomed by both the student and practising statistician wishing to study at a fairly elementary level, the basic conceptual and interpretative distinctions between the different approaches, how they interrelate, what assumptions they are based on, and the practical implications of such distinctions. As in earlier editions, the material is set in a historical context to more powerfully illustrate the ideas and concepts. Includes fully updated and revised material from the successful second edition Recent changes in emphasis, principle and methodology are carefully explained and evaluated Discusses all recent major developments Particular attention is given to the nature and importance of basic concepts (probability, utility, likelihood etc) Includes extensive references and bibliography Written by a well-known and respected author, the essence of this successful book remains unchanged providing the reader with a thorough explanation of the many approaches to inference and decision making.

The Wiley-Interscience Paperback Series consists of selected books that have been made more accessible to consumers in an effort to increase global appeal and general circulation. With these new unabridged softcover volumes, Wiley hopes to extend the lives of these works by making them available to future generations of statisticians, mathematicians, and scientists. «. . . the wealth of material on statistics concerning the multivariate normal distribution is quite exceptional. As such it is a very useful source of information for the general statistician and a must for anyone wanting to penetrate deeper into the multivariate field.» -Mededelingen van het Wiskundig Genootschap «This book is a comprehensive and clearly written text on multivariate analysis from a theoretical point of view.» -The Statistician Aspects of Multivariate Statistical Theory presents a classical mathematical treatment of the techniques, distributions, and inferences based on multivariate normal distribution. Noncentral distribution theory, decision theoretic estimation of the parameters of a multivariate normal distribution, and the uses of spherical and elliptical distributions in multivariate analysis are introduced. Advances in multivariate analysis are discussed, including decision theory and robustness. The book also includes tables of percentage points of many of the standard likelihood statistics used in multivariate statistical procedures. This definitive resource provides in-depth discussion of the multivariate field and serves admirably as both a textbook and reference.

Now updated in a valuable new edition—this user-friendly book focuses on understanding the «why» of mathematical statistics Probability and Statistical Inference, Second Edition introduces key probability and statis-tical concepts through non-trivial, real-world examples and promotes the developmentof intuition rather than simple application. With its coverage of the recent advancements in computer-intensive methods, this update successfully provides the comp-rehensive tools needed to develop a broad understanding of the theory of statisticsand its probabilistic foundations. This outstanding new edition continues to encouragereaders to recognize and fully understand the why, not just the how, behind the concepts,theorems, and methods of statistics. Clear explanations are presented and appliedto various examples that help to impart a deeper understanding of theorems and methods—from fundamental statistical concepts to computational details. Additional features of this Second Edition include: A new chapter on random samples Coverage of computer-intensive techniques in statistical inference featuring Monte Carlo and resampling methods, such as bootstrap and permutation tests, bootstrap confidence intervals with supporting R codes, and additional examples available via the book's FTP site Treatment of survival and hazard function, methods of obtaining estimators, and Bayes estimating Real-world examples that illuminate presented concepts Exercises at the end of each section Providing a straightforward, contemporary approach to modern-day statistical applications, Probability and Statistical Inference, Second Edition is an ideal text for advanced undergraduate- and graduate-level courses in probability and statistical inference. It also serves as a valuable reference for practitioners in any discipline who wish to gain further insight into the latest statistical tools.

Updated classic statistics text, with new problems and examples [/i][i]Probability and Statistical Inference, Third Edition helps students grasp essential concepts of statistics and its probabilistic foundations. This book focuses on the development of intuition and understanding in the subject through a wealth of examples illustrating concepts, theorems, and methods. The reader will recognize and fully understand the why and not just the how behind the introduced material. In this Third Edition, the reader will find a new chapter on Bayesian statistics, 70 new problems and an appendix with the supporting R code. This book is suitable for upper-level undergraduates or first-year graduate students studying statistics or related disciplines, such as mathematics or engineering. This Third Edition: Introduces an all-new chapter on Bayesian statistics and offers thorough explanations of advanced statistics and probability topics Includes 650 problems and over 400 examples – an excellent resource for the mathematical statistics class sequence in the increasingly popular «flipped classroom» format Offers students in statistics, mathematics, engineering and related fields a user-friendly resource Provides practicing professionals valuable insight into statistical tools  Probability and Statistical Inference  offers a unique approach to problems that allows the reader to fully integrate the knowledge gained from the text, thus, enhancing a more complete and honest understanding of the topic.

A concise, easily accessible introduction to descriptive and inferential techniques Statistical Inference: A Short Course offers a concise presentation of the essentials of basic statistics for readers seeking to acquire a working knowledge of statistical concepts, measures, and procedures. The author conducts tests on the assumption of randomness and normality, provides nonparametric methods when parametric approaches might not work. The book also explores how to determine a confidence interval for a population median while also providing coverage of ratio estimation, randomness, and causality. To ensure a thorough understanding of all key concepts, Statistical Inference provides numerous examples and solutions along with complete and precise answers to many fundamental questions, including: How do we determine that a given dataset is actually a random sample? With what level of precision and reliability can a population sample be estimated? How are probabilities determined and are they the same thing as odds? How can we predict the level of one variable from that of another? What is the strength of the relationship between two variables? The book is organized to present fundamental statistical concepts first, with later chapters exploring more advanced topics and additional statistical tests such as Distributional Hypotheses, Multinomial Chi-Square Statistics, and the Chi-Square Distribution. Each chapter includes appendices and exercises, allowing readers to test their comprehension of the presented material. Statistical Inference: A Short Course is an excellent book for courses on probability, mathematical statistics, and statistical inference at the upper-undergraduate and graduate levels. The book also serves as a valuable reference for researchers and practitioners who would like to develop further insights into essential statistical tools.

C. R. Rao would be found in almost any statistician's list of five outstanding workers in the world of Mathematical Statistics today. His book represents a comprehensive account of the main body of results that comprise modern statistical theory. -W. G. Cochran «[C. R. Rao is] one of the pioneers who laid the foundations of statistics which grew from ad hoc origins into a firmly grounded mathematical science.» -B. Efrom Translated into six major languages of the world, C. R. Rao's Linear Statistical Inference and Its Applications is one of the foremost works in statistical inference in the literature. Incorporating the important developments in the subject that have taken place in the last three decades, this paperback reprint of his classic work on statistical inference remains highly applicable to statistical analysis. Presenting the theory and techniques of statistical inference in a logically integrated and practical form, it covers: * The algebra of vectors and matrices * Probability theory, tools, and techniques * Continuous probability models * The theory of least squares and the analysis of variance * Criteria and methods of estimation * Large sample theory and methods * The theory of statistical inference * Multivariate normal distribution Written for the student and professional with a basic knowledge of statistics, this practical paperback edition gives this industry standard new life as a key resource for practicing statisticians and statisticians-in-training.

Stochastic processes are widely used for model building in the social, physical, engineering and life sciences as well as in financial economics. In model building, statistical inference for stochastic processes is of great importance from both a theoretical and an applications point of view. This book deals with Fractional Diffusion Processes and statistical inference for such stochastic processes. The main focus of the book is to consider parametric and nonparametric inference problems for fractional diffusion processes when a complete path of the process over a finite interval is observable. Key features: Introduces self-similar processes, fractional Brownian motion and stochastic integration with respect to fractional Brownian motion. Provides a comprehensive review of statistical inference for processes driven by fractional Brownian motion for modelling long range dependence. Presents a study of parametric and nonparametric inference problems for the fractional diffusion process. Discusses the fractional Brownian sheet and infinite dimensional fractional Brownian motion. Includes recent results and developments in the area of statistical inference of fractional diffusion processes. Researchers and students working on the statistics of fractional diffusion processes and applied mathematicians and statisticians involved in stochastic process modelling will benefit from this book.

Stochastic processes are widely used for model building in the social, physical, engineering and life sciences as well as in financial economics. In model building, statistical inference for stochastic processes is of great importance from both a theoretical and an applications point of view. This book deals with Fractional Diffusion Processes and statistical inference for such stochastic processes. The main focus of the book is to consider parametric and nonparametric inference problems for fractional diffusion processes when a complete path of the process over a finite interval is observable. Key features: Introduces self-similar processes, fractional Brownian motion and stochastic integration with respect to fractional Brownian motion. Provides a comprehensive review of statistical inference for processes driven by fractional Brownian motion for modelling long range dependence. Presents a study of parametric and nonparametric inference problems for the fractional diffusion process. Discusses the fractional Brownian sheet and infinite dimensional fractional Brownian motion. Includes recent results and developments in the area of statistical inference of fractional diffusion processes. Researchers and students working on the statistics of fractional diffusion processes and applied mathematicians and statisticians involved in stochastic process modelling will benefit from this book.