help qenvnormal

Generate quantile envelopes for normal quantile-quantile plot

Syntax

qenvnormal
varname
[if] [in]
,
generate(newvar1 newvar2)
[
reps(#)
level(#)
overall
{
mean(#)
sd(#)
}
]

Description

qenvnormal generates two numeric variables for later plotting on a
quantile-quantile plot that define an envelope of low and high
expectations for each quantile given repeated sampling from a normal
distribution with the same number of values, mean and standard deviation
as the data specified. The program is a helper program designed for use
with qplot, which must be installed separately.
Type findit qplot to get references and code sources.

When plotted, the envelopes are to be considered indicative, and not as
implying a formal decision. In particular, the envelopes underline which
quantiles are least reliable. With some experience, they should guide
later analysis.

Remarks

The precise recipe is as follows.

1. Calculate number of values, mean and standard deviation or use the
mean and standard deviation specified in the mean() and sd()
options.

2. Take reps samples of the same size from a normal distribution
with the same mean and standard deviation.

3. Order each sample from smallest to largest.

4. For each rank, calculate reference intervals containing
level% of the sample quantiles. For example, with the default of
95%, the interval ranges from the 2.5% quantile to the 97.5% quantile,
the quantiles being calculated using a procedure similar to that used
for pctile.

5. The generated variables contain values defining the reference
intervals.

In principle, the envelope variables could also be plotted in
conjunction with qnorm, but that would require more work.

This envelope approximates a separate test for each rank. The probability
that in a variable an observation falls outside this envelope is much
larger than 100 - level. When specifying the overall option an
envelope will be computed such that the overall error rate will be
approximately 100 - level using an algorithm discussed by Davison and
Hinkley (1997, Chapter 4).

1. Set L to ceil((100 - level)/200 * reps).

2. For each sample create an envelope using the remaining samples by
storing for each rank the Lth and (reps - L)th smallest value, and determine
whether the entire sample falls within this envelope. The proportion of
samples for which this is not true is an estimate of the overall error rate
of that envelope.

3. Decrease L until the overall error rate is less than 100 - level. If
the nominal level has not been reached when L = 1, then the entire range is
returned and a warning is displayed reporting the approximate overall error
rate for that envelope.

4. Compute the envelope using all samples based on this L.

Options

generate() specifies the names of two new variables to be
generated. This is a required option.

reps() specifies the number of samples to be taken. The default is
100. This is likely to be adequate for informal exploration.

level() specifies the percent of sample values to be included
within the envelope for each rank. level(100) is allowed and
interpreted as the entire range.

overall specifies that an envelope with an approximate overall
error rate of 100 - level is to be computed instead of a pointwise
error rate of approximately 100 - level.

mean() specifies the mean of the normal distribution. If
the mean() option is specified, than the sd() option must
also be specified.

sd() specifies the standard deviation of the normal distribution. If
the sd() option is specified, than the mean() option must
also be specified.

Examples

. sysuse auto, clear

. qenvnormal weight, gen(lower upper)

. tempname mean sd

. scalar `mean' = r(mean)

. scalar `sd' = r(sd)

. qplot weight lower upper, ms(oh none ..) c(. l l) lc(gs10 ..) legend(off) ytitle("Weight, lb")

. qplot weight lower upper, ms(oh none ..) c(. l l) lc(gs10 ..) legend(off) ytitle("Weight, lb") trscale(`mean' + `sd' * invnormal(@)) xtitle(Normal quantiles)

. qenvnormal weight, overall reps(2000) gen(lower2 upper2)

. qplot weight lower2 upper2, ms(oh none ..) c(. l l) lc(gs10 ..) legend(off) ytitle("Weight, lb") trscale(`mean' + `sd' * invnormal(@)) xtitle(Normal quantiles)

(click to run)

Authors

Nicholas J. Cox, Durham University

n.j.cox@durham.ac.uk

Maarten Buis, WZB

maarten.buis@wzb.eu

Reference

Davison, A.C. and Hinkley, D.V. 1997.
Bootstrap methods and their application.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Also see

Manual: [R] diagnostic plots