Hypothesis Testing and Non-parametric Test

Abstract

It is often required to make inferences about some parameters of the population based on the available data. Such inferences are very important in hydrology and hydroclimatology where the available data is generally limited. This is done through hypothesis testing. Hypothesis testing requires the knowledge of sampling distribution of different statistics and parameter estimation. Sampling distribution of mean and variance, and two types of parameter estimation — point estimation and interval estimation — are discussed at the starting of this chapter. Next, the hypothesis testing is taken up. Different cases are discussed elaborately with illustrative examples. Later, a few statistical tests are discussed that deal with the goodness of fit of a probability distribution to the data using the knowledge of hypothesis testing. Some of the commonly used non-parametric tests are also explained along with appropriate examples in the field of hydrology and hydroclimatology.