Partially specified prior

2008/07/16 by K. Govindaraju, G. Jones, Govindaraju, K. +1
Mathematics · #62C12 (Primary) 62P30 (Secondary) #62F15 #FOS: Mathematics #Statistics Theory (math.ST) #math.ST #msc:62C12 #msc:62F15 #msc:62P30 #stat.TH

paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.0807.2544

Submitted to the Electronic Journal of Statistics (http://www.i-journals.org/ejs/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org)

arxiv created 2008/07/16 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01

Abstract

This note introduces the concept of a partially specified prior distribution for certain post hoc inference problems, where a finite population is sampled once in order to make a decision on the presence or complete absence of some attribute. If the decision is made to accept complete absence, a probability statement may be required that the population is indeed free of the attribute. A partially specified prior is shown to be advantageous in making such statements realistic and useful.

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