JMASM3: A Method for Simulating Systems of Correlated Binary Data

An efficient algorithm is derived for generating systems of correlated binary data. The procedure allows for the specification of all pairwise correlations within each system. Intercorrelations between systems can be specified qualitatively. The procedure requires the simultaneous solution of a system of equations for obtaining the threshold probabilities to generate each system of binary data. A numerical example is provided to demonstrate that the procedure generates correlated binary variables that yield correlations in close agreement with the specified population correlations

On Polynomial Transformations For Simulating Multivariate Non-normal Distributions

Procedures are introduced and discussed for increasing the computational and statistical efficiency of polynomial transformations used in Monte Carlo or simulation studies. Comparisons are also made between polynomials of order three and five in terms of (a) computational and statistical efficiency, (b) the skew and kurtosis boundary, and (c) boundaries for Pearson correlations. It is also shown how ranked data can be simulated for specified Spearman correlations and sample sizes. Potential consequences of nonmonotonic transformations on rank correlations are also discussed

A Method for Simulating Systems of Correlated Binary Data

An efficient algorithm is derived for generating systems of correlated binary data. The procedure allows for the specification of all pairwise correlations within each system. Intercorrelations between systems can be specified qualitatively.The procedure requires the simultaneous solution of a system of equations for obtaining the threshold probabilities to generate each system of binary data. A numerical example is provided to demonstrate that the procedure generates correlated binary variables that yield correlations in close agreement with the specified population correlations

A Characterization of Power Method Transformations through \u3ci\u3eL\u3c/i\u3e-Moments

Power method polynomial transformations are commonly used for simulating continuous nonnormal distributions with specified moments. However, conventional moment-based estimators can (a) be substantially biased, (b) have high variance, or (c) be influenced by outliers. In view of these concerns, a characterization of power method transformations by L-moments is introduced. Specifically, systems of equations are derived for determining coefficients for specified L-moment ratios, which are associated with standard normal and standard logistic-based polynomials of order five and three. Boundaries for L-moment ratios are also derived, and closed-formed formulae are provided for determining if a power method distribution has a valid probability density function. It is demonstrated that L-moment estimators are nearly unbiased and have relatively small variance in the context of the power method. Examples of fitting power method distributions to theoretical and empirical distributions based on the method of L-moments are also provided

JMASM24: Numerical Computing for Third-Order Power Method Polynomials (Excel)

The power method polynomial transformation is a popular procedure used for simulating univariate and multivariate non-normal distributions. It requires software that solves simultaneous nonlinear equations. Potential users of the power method may not have access to commercial software packages (e.g., Mathematica, Fortran). Therefore, algorithms are presented in the more commonly available Excel 2003 spreadsheets. The algorithms solve for (1) coefficients for polynomials of order three, (2) intermediate correlations and Cholesky factorizations for multivariate data generation, and (3) the values of skew and kurtosis for determining if a transformation will produce a valid power method probability density function (pdf). The Excel files are available at http://www.siu.edu/~epse1/headrick/PowerMethod3rd/ or can be requested from the author at [email protected]

An Algorithm For Generating Exact Critical Values For the Kruskal-Wallis One-Way ANOVA

A Fortran 77 subroutine is provided for computing exact critical values for the Kruskal- Wallis test on k independent groups with equal or unequal samples sizes. The subroutine requires the user to provide sorting and ranking routines and a uniform pseudo-random number generator. The program is available from the author on request.

A Characterization of Power Method Transformations through L

Power method polynomial transformations are commonly used for simulating continuous nonnormal distributions with specified moments. However, conventional moment-based estimators can (a) be substantially biased, (b) have high variance, or (c) be influenced by outliers. In view of these concerns, a characterization of power method transformations by L-moments is introduced. Specifically, systems of equations are derived for determining coefficients for specified L-moment ratios, which are associated with standard normal and standard logistic-based polynomials of order five and three. Boundaries for L-moment ratios are also derived, and closed-formed formulae are provided for determining if a power method distribution has a valid probability density function. It is demonstrated that L-moment estimators are nearly unbiased and have relatively small variance in the context of the power method. Examples of fitting power method distributions to theoretical and empirical distributions based on the method of L-moments are also provided

A Note on the Relationship between the Pearson Product-Moment and the Spearman Rank-Based Coefficients of Correlation

This note derives the relationship between the Pearson product-moment coefficient of correlation and the Spearman rank-based coefficient of correlation for the bivariate normal distribution. This new derivation shows the relationship between the two correlation coefficients through an infinite cosine series. A computationally efficient algorithm is also provided to estimate the relationship between the Pearson product-moment coefficient of correlation and the Spearman rank-based coefficient of correlation. The algorithm can be implemented with relative ease using current modern mathematical or statistical software programming languages e.g. R, SAS, Mathematica, Fortran, et al . The algorithm is also available from the author of this article

JMASM27: An Algorithm for Implementing Gibbs Sampling for 2PNO IRT Models (Fortran)

A Fortran 77 subroutine is provided for implementing the Gibbs sampling procedure to a normal ogive IRT model for binary item response data with the choice of uniform and normal prior distributions for item parameters. The subroutine requires the user to have access to the IMSL library. The source code is available at http://www.siu.edu/~epse1/sheng/Fortran/, along with a stand alone executable file

Numerical Computing and Graphics for the Power Method Transformation Using Mathematica

This paper provides the requisite information and description of software that perform numerical computations and graphics for the power method polynomial transformation. The software developed is written in the Mathematica 5.2 package PowerMethod.m and is associated with fifth-order polynomials that are used for simulating univariate and multivariate non-normal distributions. The package is flexible enough to allow a user the choice to model theoretical pdfs, empirical data, or a user's own selected distribution(s). The primary functions perform the following (a) compute standardized cumulants and polynomial coefficients, (b) ensure that polynomial transformations yield valid pdfs, and (c) graph power method pdfs and cdfs. Other functions compute cumulative probabilities, modes, trimmed means, intermediate correlations, or perform the graphics associated with fitting power method pdfs to either empirical or theoretical distributions. Numerical examples and Monte Carlo results are provided to demonstrate and validate the use of the software package. The notebook Demo.nb is also provided as a guide for user of the power method.