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Main Authors: Bartroff, Jay, Chakraborty, Asmit
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.13694
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author Bartroff, Jay
Chakraborty, Asmit
author_facet Bartroff, Jay
Chakraborty, Asmit
contents We present a method for computing optimal fixed-width confidence intervals for a single, bounded parameter, extending a method for the binomial due to Asparaouhov and Lorden, who called it the Push algorithm. The method produces the shortest possible non-decreasing confidence interval for a given confidence level, and if the Push interval does not exist for a given width and level, then no such interval exists. The method applies to any bounded parameter that is discrete, or is continuous and has the monotone likelihood ratio property. We demonstrate the method on the binomial, hypergeometric, and normal distributions with our available R package. In each of these distributions the proposed method outperforms the standard ones, and in the latter case even improves upon the $z$-interval. We apply the proposed method to World Health Organization (WHO) data on tobacco use.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2511_13694
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Shortest fixed-width confidence intervals for a bounded parameter: The Push algorithm
Bartroff, Jay
Chakraborty, Asmit
Methodology
Computation
62F25, 62E15
We present a method for computing optimal fixed-width confidence intervals for a single, bounded parameter, extending a method for the binomial due to Asparaouhov and Lorden, who called it the Push algorithm. The method produces the shortest possible non-decreasing confidence interval for a given confidence level, and if the Push interval does not exist for a given width and level, then no such interval exists. The method applies to any bounded parameter that is discrete, or is continuous and has the monotone likelihood ratio property. We demonstrate the method on the binomial, hypergeometric, and normal distributions with our available R package. In each of these distributions the proposed method outperforms the standard ones, and in the latter case even improves upon the $z$-interval. We apply the proposed method to World Health Organization (WHO) data on tobacco use.
title Shortest fixed-width confidence intervals for a bounded parameter: The Push algorithm
topic Methodology
Computation
62F25, 62E15
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.13694