On the maximum likelihood estimation for a normal distribution under random censoring

초록

In this paper, we study statistical inferences on the maximum likelihood estimation of a normal distribution when data are randomly censored. Likelihood equations are derived assuming that the censoring distribution does not involve any parameters of interest. The maximum likelihood estimators (MLEs) of the censored normal distribution do not have an explicit form, and it should be solved in an iterative way. We consider a simple method to derive an explicit form of the approximate MLEs with no iterations by expanding the nonlinear parts of the likelihood equations in Taylor series around some suitable points. The points are closely related to Kaplan-Meier estimators. By using the same method, the observed Fisher information is also approximated to obtain asymptotic variances of the estimators. An illustrative example is presented, and a simulation study is conducted to compare the performances of the estimators. In addition to their explicit form, the approximate MLEs are as efficient as the MLEs in terms of variances.

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