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Statistica Sinica 16(2006), 933-951





AN INVESTIGATION OF TWO-STAGE TESTS


Marc Vandemeulebroecke


Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg and Schering AG


Abstract: Two-stage tests may be defined in terms of a combination function for the p-values of the separate stages, or alternatively by specifying a conditional error function, i.e., the conditional probability for an erroneous rejection given the first stage. Examples have been published suggesting that these two approaches are essentially equivalent. We provide a formal link between them that yields a general framework for two-stage tests. Our viewpoint leads to an overall p-value notion that covers different previously proposed concepts, and it allows an easy construction of new two-stage tests. One particular test is further characterized.



Key words and phrases: Adaptive design, combination test, conditional error function, interim analysis, overall p-value, two-stage test.

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