Date of Award
4-2006
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Department
Statistics
First Advisor
Dr. Magdalena Niewiadomska-Bugaj
Abstract
The specific properties of probability distributions on a circle require different definitions of several statistical concepts. For example, a median that can always be found for linear data not always exists on the circle. Several estimators of a circular median were proposed, lately by Otieno (2002), Otieno and Anderson - Cook (2003). Their work is, however, focused on the "preferred direction" which coincides with the median, mean and mode in the case of symmetric, unimodal distributions. This dissertation is focused on the estimators of a population median in a wider range of population distributions on a circle including distributions with a low concentration around the center, or skewed distributions. Three new median estimators were proposed (MIR, CQM, and CSQM) and their properties were studied. A simulation study was performed to study their properties in small samples from unimodal symmetric, and skewed distributions without and with contamination.
Access Setting
Dissertation-Open Access
Recommended Citation
Ratanaruamkarn, Sauwanit, "New Estimators of a Circular Median" (2006). Dissertations. 978.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations/978