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Fligner-Killeen test on binary data

5 messages · Peter Dalgaard, emeline mourocq, Bert Gunter +1 more

#
Hello,

 

I investigate survival until the following year (0,1) and I wish to test if
the variance in survival for two or more groups are significantly different
from each other.

 

I read that the Fligner-Killeen test is a non-parametric test which is very
robust against departures from normality but is it correct (valuable
technique for publication) to use it on binary data?

 

In other words, can I use
fligner.test(survival~categorical_predictor,data=mydata) when survival is
binary (0,1)?

 

Best regards

Emeline

 



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That's not an R question but a stats question, but I wouldn't do it. For one thing: The variance of binary data is a function of the mean, so the research question is dubious in the first place. Secondly, the test is based on ranking and comparing absolute differences from the group median, which for binary data is generally 0 or 1, so all absolute differences will be 1.... Put differently, the results are more than likely to be complet rubbish.

-pd

  
    
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Thanks for all those information. I then have to find another way to test
difference in variance between my two groups.

-----Original Message-----
From: peter dalgaard [mailto:pdalgd at gmail.com] 
Sent: Monday, 4 April, 2016 7:11 PM
To: emeline mourocq <emeline.mourocq at uzh.ch>
Cc: r-help at r-project.org
Subject: Re: [R] Fligner-Killeen test on binary data

That's not an R question but a stats question, but I wouldn't do it. For one
thing: The variance of binary data is a function of the mean, so the
research question is dubious in the first place. Secondly, the test is based
on ranking and comparing absolute differences from the group median, which
for binary data is generally 0 or 1, so all absolute differences will be
1.... Put differently, the results are more than likely to be complet
rubbish.

-pd
--
Peter Dalgaard, Professor,
Center for Statistics, Copenhagen Business School Solbjerg Plads 3, 2000
Frederiksberg, Denmark
Phone: (+45)38153501
Office: A 4.23
Email: pd.mes at cbs.dk  Priv: PDalgd at gmail.com











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#
Peter: Bravo!
On Mon, Apr 4, 2016 at 10:10 AM, peter dalgaard <pdalgd at gmail.com> wrote:
"Put differently, the results are more than likely to be complete rubbish."

Again, probably not appropriate, but anyway:
Fortune Nomination!

Cheers,
Bert
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Hi emeline,
I think there may be a minor language problem. If you mean the
"variation" rather than the "variance" in survival, you may simply
want a test of proportions.

Jim
On Mon, Apr 4, 2016 at 7:48 PM, emeline mourocq <emeline.mourocq at uzh.ch> wrote: