Asymptotic Theory of Sequential Fixed-Width ConfidenceIntervals for Location Parameters,

Abstract

Consider a sequence of confidence intervals (I sub n) with widths (2(D sub n)) and noncoverage probabilities (2(alpha sub n)). Previous sequential solutions to the problem of finding a short confidence interval with a high coverage probability have taken the following approach: Introduce a stopping rule nu(alpha,d) to be used with a sequence of intervals and designed to select an interval of width 2d which is such that, as d nears 0, the coverage probability 1 - (2(alpha sub n)) nears 1 - 2 alpha for preassigned alpha > 0. In the present investigation, the authors are concerned with the fixed-width (d fixed) case and are primarily interested in rules which perform well as alpha nears 0. A general approach toward solution of this problem in the case of a location parameter is presented and applied in connection with confidence intervals based on the sample mean and with confidence intervals based on the sample median. Asymptotic relative efficiencies are provided. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 1974
Accession Number
AD0787552

Entities

People

  • D. D. Wackerly
  • Robert Serfling

Organizations

  • Florida State University

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Intervals
  • Probability
  • Sequences

Fields of Study

  • Mathematics

Readers

  • Regression Analysis.
  • Statistical inference.