Operations, Information and Decisions Papers
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of this Version
1980
Publication Source
Biometrika
Volume
67
Issue
2
Start Page
503
Last Page
504
DOI
10.1093/biomet/67.2.503
Abstract
Efron (1971) proposed a method for sequential assignment to treatments or control which is in many ways superior to traditional procedures. To analyse the method's susceptibility to accidental bias a criterion concerning the maximum eigenvalue of a fundamental covariance matrix was introduced. On the basis of numerical evidence, Efron conjectured an explicit formula for this eigenvalue. This note gives a proof of that conjecture.
Keywords
balanced experiment, biased coin design, covariance matrix, maximum eigenvalue, sequential trial
Recommended Citation
Steele, J. (1980). Efron's Conjecture on Vulnerability to Bias in a Method for Balancing Sequential Trials. Biometrika, 67 (2), 503-504. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/biomet/67.2.503
Date Posted: 27 November 2017
This document has been peer reviewed.