Statistical Methods for Survival Data Analysis

Statistical Models and Methods for Reliability and Survival Analysis brings together contributions by specialists in statistical theory as they discuss their applications providing up-to-date developments in methods used in survival analysis, statistical goodness of fit, stochastic processes for system reliability, amongst others. Many of these are related to the work of Professor M. Nikulin in statistics over the past 30 years. The authors gather together various contributions with a broad array of techniques and results, divided into three parts – Statistical Models and Methods, Statistical Models and Methods in Survival Analysis, and Reliability and Maintenance. The book is intended for researchers interested in statistical methodology and models useful in survival analysis, system reliability and statistical testing for censored and non-censored data.

The new edition adds a chapter on multiple linear regression in biomedical research, with sections including the multiple linear regressions model and least squares; the ANOVA table, parameter estimates, and confidence intervals; partial f-tests; polynomial regression; and analysis of covariance. * Organized by problem rather than method, so it guides readers to the correct technique for solving the problem at hand.

Amstat News asked three review editors to rate their top five favorite books in the September 2003 issue. Statistical Methods for Reliability Data was among those chosen. Bringing statistical methods for reliability testing in line with the computer age This volume presents state-of-the-art, computer-based statistical methods for reliability data analysis and test planning for industrial products. Statistical Methods for Reliability Data updates and improves established techniques as it demonstrates how to apply the new graphical, numerical, or simulation-based methods to a broad range of models encountered in reliability data analysis. It includes methods for planning reliability studies and analyzing degradation data, simulation methods used to complement large-sample asymptotic theory, general likelihood-based methods of handling arbitrarily censored data and truncated data, and more. In this book, engineers and statisticians in industry and academia will find: A wealth of information and procedures developed to give products a competitive edge Simple examples of data analysis computed with the S-PLUS system-for which a suite of functions and commands is available over the Internet End-of-chapter, real-data exercise sets Hundreds of computer graphics illustrating data, results of analyses, and technical concepts An essential resource for practitioners involved in product reliability and design decisions, Statistical Methods for Reliability Data is also an excellent textbook for on-the-job training courses, and for university courses on applied reliability data analysis at the graduate level. An Instructor's Manual presenting detailed solutions to all the problems in the book is available upon requestfrom the Wiley editorial department.

Statistical data are not always precise numbers, or vectors, or categories. Real data are frequently what is called fuzzy. Examples where this fuzziness is obvious are quality of life data, environmental, biological, medical, sociological and economics data. Also the results of measurements can be best described by using fuzzy numbers and fuzzy vectors respectively. Statistical analysis methods have to be adapted for the analysis of fuzzy data. In this book, the foundations of the description of fuzzy data are explained, including methods on how to obtain the characterizing function of fuzzy measurement results. Furthermore, statistical methods are then generalized to the analysis of fuzzy data and fuzzy a-priori information. Key Features: Provides basic methods for the mathematical description of fuzzy data, as well as statistical methods that can be used to analyze fuzzy data. Describes methods of increasing importance with applications in areas such as environmental statistics and social science. Complements the theory with exercises and solutions and is illustrated throughout with diagrams and examples. Explores areas such quantitative description of data uncertainty and mathematical description of fuzzy data. This work is aimed at statisticians working with fuzzy logic, engineering statisticians, finance researchers, and environmental statisticians. It is written for readers who are familiar with elementary stochastic models and basic statistical methods.

Praise for the First Edition «An indispensable addition to any serious collection on lifetime data analysis and . . . a valuable contribution to the statistical literature. Highly recommended . . .» -Choice «This is an important book, which will appeal to statisticians working on survival analysis problems.» -Biometrics «A thorough, unified treatment of statistical models and methods used in the analysis of lifetime data . . . this is a highly competent and agreeable statistical textbook.» -Statistics in Medicine The statistical analysis of lifetime or response time data is a key tool in engineering, medicine, and many other scientific and technological areas. This book provides a unified treatment of the models and statistical methods used to analyze lifetime data. Equally useful as a reference for individuals interested in the analysis of lifetime data and as a text for advanced students, Statistical Models and Methods for Lifetime Data, Second Edition provides broad coverage of the area without concentrating on any single field of application. Extensive illustrations and examples drawn from engineering and the biomedical sciences provide readers with a clear understanding of key concepts. New and expanded coverage in this edition includes: * Observation schemes for lifetime data * Multiple failure modes * Counting process-martingale tools * Both special lifetime data and general optimization software * Mixture models * Treatment of interval-censored and truncated data * Multivariate lifetimes and event history models * Resampling and simulation methodology

Few books on statistical data analysis in the natural sciences are written at a level that a non-statistician will easily understand. This is a book written in colloquial language, avoiding mathematical formulae as much as possible, trying to explain statistical methods using examples and graphics instead. To use the book efficiently, readers should have some computer experience. The book starts with the simplest of statistical concepts and carries readers forward to a deeper and more extensive understanding of the use of statistics in environmental sciences. The book concerns the application of statistical and other computer methods to the management, analysis and display of spatial data. These data are characterised by including locations (geographic coordinates), which leads to the necessity of using maps to display the data and the results of the statistical methods. Although the book uses examples from applied geochemistry, and a large geochemical survey in particular, the principles and ideas equally well apply to other natural sciences, e.g., environmental sciences, pedology, hydrology, geography, forestry, ecology, and health sciences/epidemiology. The book is unique because it supplies direct access to software solutions (based on R, the Open Source version of the S-language for statistics) for applied environmental statistics. For all graphics and tables presented in the book, the R-scripts are provided in the form of executable R-scripts. In addition, a graphical user interface for R, called DAS+R, was developed for convenient, fast and interactive data analysis. Statistical Data Analysis Explained: Applied Environmental Statistics with R provides, on an accompanying website, the software to undertake all the procedures discussed, and the data employed for their description in the book.

Incorporates mixed-effects modeling techniques for more powerful and efficient methods This book presents current and effective nonparametric regression techniques for longitudinal data analysis and systematically investigates the incorporation of mixed-effects modeling techniques into various nonparametric regression models. The authors emphasize modeling ideas and inference methodologies, although some theoretical results for the justification of the proposed methods are presented. With its logical structure and organization, beginning with basic principles, the text develops the foundation needed to master advanced principles and applications. Following a brief overview, data examples from biomedical research studies are presented and point to the need for nonparametric regression analysis approaches. Next, the authors review mixed-effects models and nonparametric regression models, which are the two key building blocks of the proposed modeling techniques. The core section of the book consists of four chapters dedicated to the major nonparametric regression methods: local polynomial, regression spline, smoothing spline, and penalized spline. The next two chapters extend these modeling techniques to semiparametric and time varying coefficient models for longitudinal data analysis. The final chapter examines discrete longitudinal data modeling and analysis. Each chapter concludes with a summary that highlights key points and also provides bibliographic notes that point to additional sources for further study. Examples of data analysis from biomedical research are used to illustrate the methodologies contained throughout the book. Technical proofs are presented in separate appendices. With its focus on solving problems, this is an excellent textbook for upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses in longitudinal data analysis. It is also recommended as a reference for biostatisticians and other theoretical and applied research statisticians with an interest in longitudinal data analysis. Not only do readers gain an understanding of the principles of various nonparametric regression methods, but they also gain a practical understanding of how to use the methods to tackle real-world problems.

Kernel methods have long been established as effective techniques in the framework of machine learning and pattern recognition, and have now become the standard approach to many remote sensing applications. With algorithms that combine statistics and geometry, kernel methods have proven successful across many different domains related to the analysis of images of the Earth acquired from airborne and satellite sensors, including natural resource control, detection and monitoring of anthropic infrastructures (e.g. urban areas), agriculture inventorying, disaster prevention and damage assessment, and anomaly and target detection. Presenting the theoretical foundations of kernel methods (KMs) relevant to the remote sensing domain, this book serves as a practical guide to the design and implementation of these methods. Five distinct parts present state-of-the-art research related to remote sensing based on the recent advances in kernel methods, analysing the related methodological and practical challenges: Part I introduces the key concepts of machine learning for remote sensing, and the theoretical and practical foundations of kernel methods. Part II explores supervised image classification including Super Vector Machines (SVMs), kernel discriminant analysis, multi-temporal image classification, target detection with kernels, and Support Vector Data Description (SVDD) algorithms for anomaly detection. Part III looks at semi-supervised classification with transductive SVM approaches for hyperspectral image classification and kernel mean data classification. Part IV examines regression and model inversion, including the concept of a kernel unmixing algorithm for hyperspectral imagery, the theory and methods for quantitative remote sensing inverse problems with kernel-based equations, kernel-based BRDF (Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function), and temperature retrieval KMs. Part V deals with kernel-based feature extraction and provides a review of the principles of several multivariate analysis methods and their kernel extensions. This book is aimed at engineers, scientists and researchers involved in remote sensing data processing, and also those working within machine learning and pattern recognition.

Praise for the First Edition of Statistical Analysis with Missing Data «An important contribution to the applied statistics literature.... I give the book high marks for unifying and making accessible much of the past and current work in this important area.» —William E. Strawderman, Rutgers University «This book…provide[s] interesting real-life examples, stimulating end-of-chapter exercises, and up-to-date references. It should be on every applied statistician’s bookshelf.» —The Statistician «The book should be studied in the statistical methods department in every statistical agency.» —Journal of Official Statistics Statistical analysis of data sets with missing values is a pervasive problem for which standard methods are of limited value. The first edition of Statistical Analysis with Missing Data has been a standard reference on missing-data methods. Now, reflecting extensive developments in Bayesian methods for simulating posterior distributions, this Second Edition by two acknowledged experts on the subject offers a thoroughly up-to-date, reorganized survey of current methodology for handling missing-data problems. Blending theory and application, authors Roderick Little and Donald Rubin review historical approaches to the subject and describe rigorous yet simple methods for multivariate analysis with missing values. They then provide a coherent theory for analysis of problems based on likelihoods derived from statistical models for the data and the missing-data mechanism and apply the theory to a wide range of important missing-data problems. The new edition now enlarges its coverage to include: Expanded coverage of Bayesian methodology, both theoretical and computational, and of multiple imputation Analysis of data with missing values where inferences are based on likelihoods derived from formal statistical models for the data-generating and missing-data mechanisms Applications of the approach in a variety of contexts including regression, factor analysis, contingency table analysis, time series, and sample survey inference Extensive references, examples, and exercises Amstat News asked three review editors to rate their top five favorite books in the September 2003 issue. Statistical Analysis With Missing Data was among those chosen.