Concepts of Nonparametric Theory

This book explores both non parametric and general statistical ideas by developing non parametric procedures in simple situations. The major goal is to give the reader a thorough intuitive understanding of the concepts underlying nonparametric procedures and a full appreciation of the properties and operating characteristics of those procedures covered. This book differs from most statistics books by including considerable philosophical and methodological discussion. Special attention is given to discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of various statistical methods and approaches. Difficulties that often arise in applying statistical theory to real data also receive substantial attention. The approach throughout is more conceptual than mathematical. The "Theorem-Proof" format is avoided; generally, properties are "shown," rather than "proved." In most cases the ideas behind the proof of an im- portant result are discussed intuitively in the text and formal details are left as an exercise for the reader. We feel that the reader will learn more from working such things out than from checking step-by-step a complete presen- tation of all details.