Handbook of exponential and related distributions for engineers and scientists

Abstract

The normal distribution is widely known and used by scientists and engineers. However, there are many cases when the normal distribution is not appropriate, due to the data being skewed. Rather than leaving you to search through journal articles, advanced theoretical monographs, or introductory texts for alternative distributions, the Handbook of Exponential and Related Distributions for Engineers and Scientists provides a concise, carefully selected presentation of the properties and principles of selected distributions that are most useful for application in the sciences and engineering. The book begins with all the basic mathematical and statistical background necessary to select the correct distribution to model real-world data sets. This includes inference, decision theory, and computational aspects including the popular Bootstrap method. The authors then examine four skewed distributions in detail: exponential, gamma, Weibull, and extreme value. For each one, they discuss general properties and applicability to example data sets, theoretical characterization, estimation of parameters and related inferences, and goodness of fit tests. The final chapter deals with system reliability for series and parallel systems. Presenting methods based on statistical simulations and numerical computations, the Handbook of Exponential and Related Distributions for Engineers and Scientists supplies hands-on tools for applied researchers in need of practical tools for data analysis.