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Main Authors: Zhang, Chi, Sang, Peijun, Qin, Yingli
Format: Preprint
Published: 2023
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.07727
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author Zhang, Chi
Sang, Peijun
Qin, Yingli
author_facet Zhang, Chi
Sang, Peijun
Qin, Yingli
contents We propose a novel test procedure for comparing mean functions across two groups within the reproducing kernel Hilbert space (RKHS) framework. Our proposed method is adept at handling sparsely and irregularly sampled functional data when observation times are random for each subject. Conventional approaches, which are built upon functional principal components analysis, usually assume a homogeneous covariance structure across groups. Nonetheless, justifying this assumption in real-world scenarios can be challenging. To eliminate the need for a homogeneous covariance structure, we first develop a linear approximation for the mean estimator under the RKHS framework; this approximation is a sum of i.i.d. random elements, which naturally leads to the desirable pointwise limiting distributions. Moreover, we establish weak convergence for the mean estimator, allowing us to construct a test statistic for the mean difference. Our method is easily implementable and outperforms some conventional tests in controlling type I errors across various settings. We demonstrate the finite sample performance of our approach through extensive simulations and two real-world applications.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2312_07727
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Two-sample inference for sparse functional data
Zhang, Chi
Sang, Peijun
Qin, Yingli
Methodology
Statistics Theory
We propose a novel test procedure for comparing mean functions across two groups within the reproducing kernel Hilbert space (RKHS) framework. Our proposed method is adept at handling sparsely and irregularly sampled functional data when observation times are random for each subject. Conventional approaches, which are built upon functional principal components analysis, usually assume a homogeneous covariance structure across groups. Nonetheless, justifying this assumption in real-world scenarios can be challenging. To eliminate the need for a homogeneous covariance structure, we first develop a linear approximation for the mean estimator under the RKHS framework; this approximation is a sum of i.i.d. random elements, which naturally leads to the desirable pointwise limiting distributions. Moreover, we establish weak convergence for the mean estimator, allowing us to construct a test statistic for the mean difference. Our method is easily implementable and outperforms some conventional tests in controlling type I errors across various settings. We demonstrate the finite sample performance of our approach through extensive simulations and two real-world applications.
title Two-sample inference for sparse functional data
topic Methodology
Statistics Theory
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.07727