A multi-criterion evaluation approach to selection of the best statistical distribution

  • Authors:

  • Yiqiang Wang;Richard C. M. Yam;Ming J. Zuo

  • Affiliations:

  • Jilin University of Technology, Changchun 130025, China;City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China;Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Alberta, 4-9 Mechanical Engineering Building, Edmonton, Alta, Canada T6G 2G8

  • Venue:
  • Computers and Industrial Engineering
  • Year:
  • 2004

Quantified Score

Hi-index 0.00

Visualization

Abstract

Using traditional statistical analysis methods one chooses a hypothesized distribution to describe the observed data, estimate the distribution parameters, and then apply the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test statistic Dmax or the Chi-square test statistic χ2 to test the goodness of fit. Observing that the Dmax statistic considers only the information on cumulative distribution function (CDF), we have proposed a multi-criterion decision-making approach considering not only the Dmax statistic but also the errors in CDF, the errors in probability distribution function, the errors in skewness and kurtosis, and experts' preference. A case study is provided to illustrate the use of the proposed approach.