Encyclopedia of Statistical Sciences , Update (Volume 1)

Countless professionals and students who use statistics in their work rely on the ten–volume (including supplement) Encyclopedia of Statistical Sciences as a superior and unique source of information on statistical theory, methods, and applications. This new volume is the first of three planned updates designed to bring the Encyclopedia in line with the latest topics and advances made in statistical science over the past decade—in areas such as computer–intensive statistical methodology, genetics, medicine, the environment, and other applications.

Written by over 100 world–renowned experts (including the editors), the entries are self–contained and easily understood by readers with a limited statistical background. Up–to–date bibliographies, thorough cross–referencing, and extensive indexing facilitate quick access to specific information and provide an indispensable platform for further study and research.

With the publication of this first update installment, the Encyclopedia of Statistical Sciences retains its position as a cutting–edge reference of choice for those working in statistics, biostatistics, quality control, economics, sociology, engineering, probability theory, computer science, biomedicine, psychology, and many other areas. Editorial Board

Chairman: Norman L. Johnson Emeritus Professor of Statistics University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Members of the Advisory Board:

• Stephen E. Fienberg Maurice Falk Professor of Statistics Carnegie Mellon University
• Nancy Reid Professor of Statistics University of Toronto
• D. Michael Titterington Professor of Statistics University of Glasgow
• Geoffrey S. Watson Emeritus Professor of Statistics Princeton University

Editorial Assistant: Sheila Crain Southern Methodist University

About the editors

SAMUEL KOTZ, PhD, is Professor of Statistics at the University of Maryland at College Park. Dr. Kotz received his PhD in mathematical statistics from Cornell University and has held distinguished visiting positions at Bucknell University, Bowling Green State University, Tel Aviv University, University of Guelph, Harbin Institute of Technology (China), Luleä University (Sweden), and Copenhagen University. He was awarded honorary doctorates from the University of Athens in 1995 and from Bowling Green State University in 1996. In addition to serving as coordinating editor of Journal of Statistical Planning and Inference, Dr. Kotz is the coauthor of the classic four–volume Distributions in Statistics (now in its second edition), Urn Models and Applications, Symmetric Multivariate and Related Distributions, Educated Guessing, Process Capability Indices, Recent Results in Information Theory, and several Russian–English technical dictionaries.

CAMPBELL B. READ, PhD, is Professor of Statistical Science at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. He studied mathematics at the University of Cambridge in England, and obtained a PhD in mathematical statistics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is the author of several research papers in sequential analysis, properties of statistical distributions, and contingency table analysis, and is coauthor of the Handbook of the Normal Distribution. He is an elected member of the International Statistical Institute, has served on the faculty of the American University of Beirut, Lebanon, and was a visiting scholar in 1987 at the University of Cambridge.

DAVID L. BANKS, PhD, is Associate Professor of Statistics at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Dr. Banks received his PhD in statistics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and has held visiting positions at the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Cambridge.