Complex multivariate testing problems are frequently encountered in many scientific disciplines, such as engineering, medicine and the social sciences. As a result, modern statistics needs permutation testing for complex data with low sample size and many variables, especially in observational studies. The Authors give a general overview on permutation tests with a focus on recent theoretical advances within univariate and multivariate complex permutation testing problems, this book brings the reader completely up to date with today’s current thinking. Key Features: Examines the most up-to-date methodologies of univariate and multivariate permutation testing. Includes extensive software codes in MATLAB, R and SAS, featuring worked examples, and uses real case studies from both experimental and observational studies. Includes a standalone free software NPC Test Release 10 with a graphical interface which allows practitioners from every scientific field to easily implement almost all complex testing procedures included in the book. Presents and discusses solutions to the most important and frequently encountered real problems in multivariate analyses. A supplementary website containing all of the data sets examined in the book along with ready to use software codes. Together with a wide set of application cases, the Authors present a thorough theory of permutation testing both with formal description and proofs, and analysing real case studies. Practitioners and researchers, working in different scientific fields such as engineering, biostatistics, psychology or medicine will benefit from this book.

Statistical shape analysis is a geometrical analysis from a set of shapes in which statistics are measured to describe geometrical properties from similar shapes or different groups, for instance, the difference between male and female Gorilla skull shapes, normal and pathological bone shapes, etc. Some of the important aspects of shape analysis are to obtain a measure of distance between shapes, to estimate average shapes from a (possibly random) sample and to estimate shape variability in a sample[1]. One of the main methods used is principal component analysis. Specific applications of shape analysis may be found in archaeology, architecture, biology, geography, geology, agriculture, genetics, medical imaging, security applications such as face recognition, entertainment industry (movies, games), computer-aided design and manufacturing. This is a proposal for a new Brief on statistical shape analysis and the various new parametric and non-parametric methods utilized to facilitate shape analysis. ​ ​

The purpose of this book is to illustrate a new statistical approach to test allelic association and genotype-specific effects in the genetic study of diseases. There are some parametric and non-parametric methods available for this purpose. We deal with population-based association studies, but comparisons with other methods will also be drawn, analysing the advantages and disadvantages of each one, particularly with regard to power properties with small sample sizes. In this framework we will work out some nonparametric statistical permutation tests and likelihood-based tests to perform case-control analyses to study allelic association between marker, disease-gene and environmental factors. Permutation tests, in particular, will be extended to multivariate and more complex studies, where we deal with several genes and several alleles together. Furthermore, we show simulations under different assumptions on the genetic model and analyse real data sets by simply studying one locus with the permutation test.

The focus of this book is on the birth and historical development of permutation statistical methods from the early 1920s to the near present. Beginning with the seminal contributions of R.A. Fisher, E.J.G. Pitman, and others in the 1920s and 1930s, permutation statistical methods were initially introduced to validate the assumptions of classical statistical methods. Permutation methods have advantages over classical methods in that they are optimal for small data sets and non-random samples, are data-dependent, and are free of distributional assumptions. Permutation probability values may be exact, or estimated via moment- or resampling-approximation procedures. Because permutation methods are inherently computationally-intensive, the evolution of computers and computing technology that made modern permutation methods possible accompanies the historical narrative. Permutation analogs of many well-known statistical tests are presented in a historical context, including multiple correlation and regression, analysis of variance, contingency table analysis, and measures of association and agreement. A non-mathematical approach makes the text accessible to readers of all levels.

The Department of Statistical Sciences of the University of Bologna in collaboration with the Department of Management and Engineering of the University of Padova, the Department of Statistical Modelling of Saint Petersburg State University, and INFORMS Simulation Society sponsored the Seventh Workshop on Simulation. This international conference was devoted to statistical techniques in stochastic simulation, data collection, analysis of scientific experiments, and studies representing broad areas of interest. The previous workshops took place in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1994, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2005, and 2009. The Seventh Workshop took place in the Rimini Campus of the University of Bologna, which is in Rimini’s historical center.

In the most recent years, Economic Statistics, like other applied and non-applied sciences, has been involved in the new intense data revolution, which regards all research fields, especially for data collection and data processing issues. The traditional statistical measures, used to monitor economic activities, are transformed from slow and periodic recordings into real-time information, with the need to integrate different sources of information. Complex data offer additional information to analyse economic phenomena, although main problems are still open questions regarding methodological issues, costs of collection, storing and analysis. In the light of this new scenario, the 2nd Conference on Economic Statistics “Statistical Analysis of Complex Economic Data: recent developments and applications”, which occurred in Florence on 7-8 February 2024, aimed to discuss the management and the usefulness of complex data in the analysis of economic phenomena, focusing on the recent developments and empirical applications. This Book of Short Papers includes 40 contributions presented and discussed during the Conference, offering the reader a summary of the contents of the Conference.

This volume presents theoretical developments, applications and computational methods for the analysis and modeling in behavioral and social sciences where data are usually complex to explore and investigate. The challenging proposals provide a connection between statistical methodology and the social domain with particular attention to computational issues in order to effectively address complicated data analysis problems. The papers in this volume stem from contributions initially presented at the joint international meeting JCS-CLADAG held in Anacapri (Italy) where the Japanese Classification Society and the Classification and Data Analysis Group of the Italian Statistical Society had a stimulating scientific discussion and exchange.

Ranking of Multivariate Populations: A Permutation Approach with Applications presents a novel permutation-based nonparametric approach for ranking several multivariate populations. Using data collected from both experimental and observation studies, it covers some of the most useful designs widely applied in research and industry investigations, such as multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and multivariate randomized complete block (MRCB) designs. The first section of the book introduces the topic of ranking multivariate populations by presenting the main theoretical ideas and an in-depth literature review. The second section discusses a large number of real case studies from four specific research areas: new product development in industry, perceived quality of the indoor environment, customer satisfaction, and cytological and histological analysis by image processing. A web-based nonparametric combination global ranking software is also described. Designed for practitioners and postgraduate students in statistics and the applied sciences, this application-oriented book offers a practical guide to the reliable global ranking of multivariate items, such as products, processes, and services, in terms of the performance of all investigated products/prototypes.

Geostatistical Functional Data Analysis Explore the intersection between geostatistics and functional data analysis with this insightful new reference Geostatistical Functional Data Analysis presents a unified approach to modelling functional data when spatial and spatio-temporal correlations are present. The Editors link together the wide research areas of geostatistics and functional data analysis to provide the reader with a new area called geostatistical functional data analysis that will bring new insights and new open questions to researchers coming from both scientific fields. This book provides a complete and up-to-date account to deal with functional data that is spatially correlated, but also includes the most innovative developments in different open avenues in this field. Containing contributions from leading experts in the field, this practical guide provides readers with the necessary tools to employ and adapt classic statistical techniques to handle spatial regression. The book also includes: A thorough introduction to the spatial kriging methodology when working with functions A detailed exposition of more classical statistical techniques adapted to the functional case and extended to handle spatial correlations Practical discussions of ANOVA, regression, and clustering methods to explore spatial correlation in a collection of curves sampled in a region In-depth explorations of the similarities and differences between spatio-temporal data analysis and functional data analysis Aimed at mathematicians, statisticians, postgraduate students, and researchers involved in the analysis of functional and spatial data, Geostatistical Functional Data Analysis will also prove to be a powerful addition to the libraries of geoscientists, environmental scientists, and economists seeking insightful new knowledge and questions at the interface of geostatistics and functional data analysis.

This book deals with problems related to the evaluation of customer satisfaction in very different contexts and ways. Often satisfaction about a product or service is investigated through suitable surveys which try to capture the satisfaction about several partial aspects which characterize the perceived quality of that product or service. This book presents a series of statistical techniques adopted to analyze data from real situations where customer satisfaction surveys were performed. The aim is to give a simple guide of the variety of analysis that can be performed when analyzing data from sample surveys: starting from latent variable models to heterogeneity in satisfaction and also introducing some testing methods for comparing different customers. The book also discusses the construction of composite indicators including different benchmarks of satisfaction. Finally, some rank-based procedures for analyzing survey data are also shown.