A new powerful nonparametric rank test for ordered alternative problem.

We propose a new nonparametric test for ordered alternative problem based on the rank difference between two observations from different groups. These groups are assumed to be independent from each other. The exact mean and variance of the test statistic under the null distribution are derived, and...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Guogen Shan, Daniel Young, Le Kang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2014-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4236087?pdf=render
Description
Summary:We propose a new nonparametric test for ordered alternative problem based on the rank difference between two observations from different groups. These groups are assumed to be independent from each other. The exact mean and variance of the test statistic under the null distribution are derived, and its asymptotic distribution is proven to be normal. Furthermore, an extensive power comparison between the new test and other commonly used tests shows that the new test is generally more powerful than others under various conditions, including the same type of distribution, and mixed distributions. A real example from an anti-hypertensive drug trial is provided to illustrate the application of the tests. The new test is therefore recommended for use in practice due to easy calculation and substantial power gain.
ISSN:1932-6203