On optimal tests for separate hypotheses and conditional probability integral transformations

Abstract

Consider the problem of testing the composite null hypothesis that a random sample X₁,…,X_n is from a parent which is a member of a particular continuous parametric family of distributions against an alternative that it is from a separate family of distributions. It is shown here that in many cases a uniformly most powerful similar (UMPS) test exists for this problem, and, moreover, that this test is equivalent to a uniformly most powerful invariant (UMPI) test. It is also seen in the method of proof used that the UMPS test statistic Is a function of the statistics U₁,…,U_n−k obtained by the conditional probability integral transformations (CPIT), and thus that no Information Is lost by these transformations, It is also shown that these optimal tests have power that is a nonotone function of the null hypothesis class of distributions, so that, for example, if one additional parameter for the distribution is assumed known, then the power of the test can not lecrease. It Is shown that the statistics U₁, …, U_n−k are independent of the complete sufficient statistic, and that these statistics have important invariance properties. Two examples at given. The UMPS tests for testing the two-parameter uniform family against the two-parameter exponential family, and for testing one truncation parameter distribution against another one are derived.

Keywords:

• similar tests
• invariant tests
• Radon-Nikodym theorem
• truncation parameter distributions
• goodnees-of-fit