1975/01/01 by Paul Meier · 4 citations
Mathematics · #Statistical Distribution Estimation and Applications #Statistical Methods and Inference #Statistical Methods and Bayesian Inference
paper · doi:10.1017/s0021900200047574
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.