Noncentral distributions are families of probability distributions that are related to other "central" families of distributions by means of a noncentrality parameter. Whereas the central distribution describes how a test statistic is distributed when the difference tested is null, noncentral distributions describe the distribution of a test statistic when the null is false (so the alternative hypothesis is true). This leads to their use in calculating statistical power.
If the noncentrality parameter of a distribution is zero, the distribution is identical to a distribution in the central family. [1] For example, the Student's t-distribution is the central family of distributions for the noncentral t-distribution family.
Noncentrality parameters are used in the following distributions:
In general, noncentrality parameters occur in distributions that are transformations of a normal distribution. The "central" versions are derived from normal distributions that have a mean of zero; the noncentral versions generalize to arbitrary means. For example, the standard (central) chi-squared distribution is the distribution of a sum of squared independent standard normal distributions, i.e., normal distributions with mean 0, variance 1. The noncentral chi-squared distribution generalizes this to normal distributions with arbitrary mean and variance.
Each of these distributions has a single noncentrality parameter. However, there are extended versions of these distributions which have two noncentrality parameters: the doubly noncentral beta distribution, the doubly noncentral F distribution and the doubly noncentral t distribution. [2] These types of distributions occur for distributions that are defined as the quotient of two independent distributions. When both source distributions are central (either with a zero mean or a zero noncentrality parameter, depending on the type of distribution), the result is a central distribution. When one is noncentral, a (singly) noncentral distribution results, while if both are noncentral, the result is a doubly noncentral distribution. As an example, a t-distribution is defined (ignoring constant values) as the quotient of a normal distribution and the square root of an independent chi-squared distribution. Extending this definition to encompass a normal distribution with arbitrary mean produces a noncentral t-distribution, while further extending it to allow a noncentral chi-squared distribution in the denominator while produces a doubly noncentral t-distribution.
There are some "noncentral distributions" that are not usually formulated in terms of a "noncentrality parameter": see noncentral hypergeometric distributions, for example.
The noncentrality parameter of the t-distribution may be negative or positive while the noncentral parameters of the other three distributions must be greater than zero.
In probability and statistics, Student's t-distribution is any member of a family of continuous probability distributions that arises when estimating the mean of a normally distributed population in situations where the sample size is small and the population standard deviation is unknown. It was developed by William Sealy Gosset under the pseudonym Student.
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In probability theory and statistics, the F-distribution, also known as Snedecor's F distribution or the Fisher–Snedecor distribution is a continuous probability distribution that arises frequently as the null distribution of a test statistic, most notably in the analysis of variance (ANOVA), e.g., F-test.
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The t-test is any statistical hypothesis test in which the test statistic follows a Student's t-distribution under the null hypothesis.
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In probability theory and statistics, the noncentral F-distribution is a continuous probability distribution that is a noncentral generalization of the (ordinary) F-distribution. It describes the distribution of the quotient (X/n1)/(Y/n2), where the numerator X has a noncentral chi-squared distribution with n1 degrees of freedom and the denominator Y has a central chi-squared distribution with n2 degrees of freedom. It is also required that X and Y are statistically independent of each other.
A test statistic is a statistic used in statistical hypothesis testing. A hypothesis test is typically specified in terms of a test statistic, considered as a numerical summary of a data-set that reduces the data to one value that can be used to perform the hypothesis test. In general, a test statistic is selected or defined in such a way as to quantify, within observed data, behaviours that would distinguish the null from the alternative hypothesis, where such an alternative is prescribed, or that would characterize the null hypothesis if there is no explicitly stated alternative hypothesis.
The following is a glossary of terms used in the mathematical sciences statistics and probability.
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In probability theory and statistics, the noncentral chi-square distribution is a noncentral generalization of the chi-square distribution. It often arises in the power analysis of statistical tests in which the null distribution is a chi-square distribution; important examples of such tests are the likelihood-ratio tests.
The noncentral t-distribution generalizes Student's t-distribution using a noncentrality parameter. Whereas the central probability distribution describes how a test statistic t is distributed when the difference tested is null, the noncentral distribution describes how t is distributed when the null is false. This leads to its use in statistics, especially calculating statistical power. The noncentral t-distribution is also known as the singly noncentral t-distribution, and in addition to its primary use in statistical inference, is also used in robust modeling for data.
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