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1. Exploratory Data Analysis
1.4. EDA Case Studies
1.4.2. Case Studies
1.4.2.5. Beam Deflections

1.4.2.5.2.

Test Underlying Assumptions

Goal The goal of this analysis is threefold:
  1. Determine if the univariate model:

      \( Y_{i} = C + E_{i} \)

    is appropriate and valid.

  2. Determine if the typical underlying assumptions for an "in control" measurement process are valid. These assumptions are:
    1. random drawings;
    2. from a fixed distribution;
    3. with the distribution having a fixed location; and
    4. the distribution having a fixed scale.
  3. Determine if the confidence interval

      \( \bar{Y} \pm 2s/\sqrt{N} \)

    is appropriate and valid where s is the standard deviation of the original data.

4-Plot of Data 4-Plot
Interpretation The assumptions are addressed by the graphics shown above:
  1. The run sequence plot (upper left) indicates that the data do not have any significant shifts in location or scale over time.
  2. The lag plot (upper right) shows that the data are not random. The lag plot further indicates the presence of a few outliers.
  3. When the randomness assumption is thus seriously violated, the histogram (lower left) and normal probability plot (lower right) are ignored since determining the distribution of the data is only meaningful when the data are random.
From the above plots we conclude that the underlying randomness assumption is not valid. Therefore, the model
    Yi = C + Ei
is not appropriate.

We need to develop a better model. Non-random data can frequently be modeled using time series mehtodology. Specifically, the circular pattern in the lag plot indicates that a sinusoidal model might be appropriate. The sinusoidal model will be developed in the next section.

Individual Plots The plots can be generated individually for more detail. In this case, only the run sequence plot and the lag plot are drawn since the distributional plots are not meaningful.
Run Sequence Plot run sequence plot
Lag Plot lag plot

We have drawn some lines and boxes on the plot to better isolate the outliers. The following data points appear to be outliers based on the lag plot.

INDEX         Y(i-1)           Y(i)   

  158        -506.00         300.00
  157         300.00         201.00
    3         -15.00         -35.00
    5         115.00         141.00
  
That is, the third, fifth, 157th, and 158th points appear to be outliers.
Autocorrelation Plot When the lag plot indicates significant non-randomness, it can be helpful to follow up with a an autocorrelation plot.

autocorrelation plot

This autocorrelation plot shows a distinct cyclic pattern. As with the lag plot, this suggests a sinusoidal model.

Spectral Plot Another useful plot for non-random data is the spectral plot.

spectral plot

This spectral plot shows a single dominant peak at a frequency of 0.3. This frequency of 0.3 will be used in fitting the sinusoidal model in the next section.

Quantitative Results Although the lag plot, autocorrelation plot, and spectral plot clearly show the violation of the randomness assumption, we supplement the graphical output with some quantitative measures.
Summary Statistics As a first step in the analysis, summary statistics are computed from the data.
      Sample size  =  200
      Mean         = -177.4350
      Median       = -162.0000  
      Minimum      = -579.0000  
      Maximum      =  300.0000 
      Range        =  879.0000
      Stan. Dev.   =  277.3322
Location One way to quantify a change in location over time is to fit a straight line to the data set using the index variable X = 1, 2, ..., N, with N denoting the number of observations. If there is no significant drift in the location, the slope parameter should be zero.
      Coefficient     Estimate     Stan. Error   t-Value
          A0          -178.175         39.47      -4.514
          A1         0.7366E-02         0.34       0.022
 
      Residual Standard Deviation = 278.0313
      Residual Degrees of Freedom = 198  
The slope parameter, A1, has a t value of 0.022 which is statistically not significant. This indicates that the slope can in fact be considered zero.
Variation One simple way to detect a change in variation is with a Bartlett test after dividing the data set into several equal-sized intervals. However, the Bartlett the non-randomness of this data does not allows us to assume normality, we use the alternative Levene test. In partiuclar, we use the Levene test based on the median rather the mean. The choice of the number of intervals is somewhat arbitrary, although values of 4 or 8 are reasonable.
      H0:  σ12 = σ22 = σ32 = σ42 
      Ha:  At least one σi2 is not equal to the others.

      Test statistic:  W = 0.09378
      Degrees of freedom:  k - 1 = 3
      Sample size:  N = 200
      Significance level:  α = 0.05
      Critical value:  Fα,k-1,N-k = 2.651
      Critical region:  Reject H0 if W > 2.651
In this case, the Levene test indicates that the variances are not significantly different in the four intervals since the test statistic value, 0.9378, is less than the critical value of 2.651.
Randomness A runs test is used to check for randomness
      H0:  the sequence was produced in a random manner
      Ha:  the sequence was not produced in a random manner  

      Test statistic:  Z = 2.6938
      Significance level:  α = 0.05
      Critical value:  Z1-α/2 = 1.96 
      Critical region:  Reject H0 if |Z| > 1.96 
The absolute value of the test statistic is larger than the critical value at the 5 % significance level, so we conclude that the data are not random.
Distributional Assumptions Since the quantitative tests show that the assumptions of constant scale and non-randomness are not met, the distributional measures will not be meaningful. Therefore these quantitative tests are omitted.
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