Author(s)

Conor McMeel, Brett Houlding^*

Discipline of Statistics, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.

We consider an extension to Sequential Probability Ratio Tests for when we have uncertain costs, but also opportunity to learn about these in an adaptive manner. In doing so we demonstrate the effects that allowing uncertainty has on observation cost, and the costs associated with Type I and Type II error. The value of information relating to modelled uncertainties is derived and the case of statistical dependence between the parameter affecting decision outcome and the parameter affecting unknown cost is also examined. Numerical examples of the derived theory are provided, along with a simulation comparing this adaptive learning framework to the classical one.

Adaptive Utility, Hypothesis Testing, Sequential Analysis, Sequential Probability Ratio Test

McMeel, C. and Houlding, B. (2016) Incorporating Uncertain Costs within a Series of Sequential Probability Ratio Tests. Open Journal of Statistics, 6, 882-897. doi: 10.4236/ojs.2016.65073.