The ranked-set sample sign test

Abstract

The method of ranked-set samples (RSS) as opposed to simple random sampling is discussed. In the ranked-set sampling method, k observations are ranked by an expert then a measurement is taken on the observation designated to have rank j for j = 1,…,k. This is repeated until we have k measurements on the order statistics.We observed k ² items to get k measurements. This method is effective when observations are inexpensive and measurement is perhaps destructive orinvasive. The properties of the sign test along with the mediam and corresponding confidence interval for the RSS method are developed. It is shown that when it is appropriate, there can bea substantial efficiency gain when using ranked-set sampling. We consider a simple model to described theeffect of imperfect judgment. We also provide a brief comparison of the RSS median to the RSS mean.