Statistical test

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Include hypothesis testing of which are an instance of statistical tests. Link to true/false positive/negative and create pages for false positive and such that redirect to an anchor on that page. Don't forget the power function - Alec (talk) 13:32, 14 December 2017 (UTC)

Definition

A statistical test, T, is characterised by two (a pair) of probabilities:

  • T=(u,v), where:
    • u is the probability of the test yielding a true-positive result
    • v is the probability of the test yielding a true-negative result

If we write [T=1] for the test coming back positive, [T=0] for negative and let P denote the actual correct outcome (which may be unknowable), denoting [P=1] if the thing being tested for is, in truth, present and [P=0] if absent, then:

Outcomes: Truly present
[P=1]
Truly absent
[P=0]
Test positive
[T=1]
P[T=1 | P=1]=u P[T=1 | P=0]=1v
Test negative
[T=0]
P[T=0 | P=1]=1u

false negative

P[T=0 | P=0]=v

true negative

OLD PAGE

Definition

A statistical test, T, is characterised by two (a pair) of probabilities:

  • T=(u,v), where:
    • u is the probability of the test yielding a true-positive result
    • v is the probability of the test yielding a true-negative result

Tests are usually asymmetric, see: below and asymmetry of statistical tests for more info.

Notation and Terminology

For a test subject, s, we say the outcome of the test is:

  1. Positive: [T(s)=1], [T(s)=P], or possibly either of these without the [ ]
  2. Negative: [T(s)=0], [T(s)=N], or possibly either of these without the [ ]

Power and Significance

The power of the test is

Explanation

Let R denote the result of the test, here this will be 1 or 0, and let P be whether or not the subject actually has the property being tested for. As claimed above the test is characterised by two probabilities