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Estimation of a Distribution Function from Incomplete Observations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 September 2017

Paul Meier
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Abstract

The product-limit estimator for a distribution function, appropriate to observations which are variably censored, was introduced by Kaplan and Meier in 1958; it has provided a basis for study of more complex problems by Cox and by others. Its properties in the case of random censoring have been studied by Efron and later writers. The basic properties of the product-limit estimator are here shown to be closely parallel to the properties of the empirical distribution function in the general case of variably and arbitrarily censored observations.

Information

Type
Part III — Statistical Theory
Information
Journal of Applied Probability , Volume 12 , Issue S1 , 1975, pp. 67 - 87
Copyright
Copyright © 1975 Applied Probability Trust 

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