Resumen de A new distribution‐free k‐sample test: Analysis of kernel density functionals

Su Chen

• A novel distribution‐free k‐sample test of differences in location shifts based on the analysis of kernel density functional estimation is introduced and studied. The proposed test parallels one‐way analysis of variance and the Kruskal–Wallis (KW) test aiming at testing locations of unknown distributions. In contrast to the rank (score)‐transformed non‐parametric approach, such as the KW test, the proposed F‐test uses the measurement responses along with well‐known kernel density estimation (KDE) to estimate the locations and construct the test statistic. A practical optimal bandwidth selection procedure is also provided. Our simulation studies and real data example indicate that the proposed analysis of kernel density functional estimate (ANDFE) test is superior to existing competitors for fat‐tailed or heavy‐tailed distributions when the k groups differ mainly in location rather than shape, especially with unbalanced data. ANDFE is also highly recommended when it is unclear whether test groups differ mainly in shape or location. The Canadian Journal of Statistics 48: 167–186; 2020 © 2019 Statistical Society of Canada