A new statistical test for distinguishing 2-partitions of a finite set

Abstract

This paper considers a family of so-called 2-partitions of some finite set. Each of them divides the set under study into two disjoint parts. Under the assumption that two such partitions are chosen randomly, the exact probability distribution of the special cluster metric on this family is found. On this basis, a new statistical test for checking the significance of differences between 2-partitions is proposed. In addition, the distribution of the values of this metric is found for the case when both partitions are of the ledge type in ordering the set of objects in ascending order of values of some numerical indicator. This means that one of the parts of each partition, which in some sense is the main one, is a segment. The boundaries of such a segment are called normative. By comparing various estimates of the normative boundaries based on sample data, it is introduced the concept of indicative certainty of the numerical indicator. It can be regarded as the degree of confidence in this indicator as a basis for decision whether an object belongs to the main set of the ledge partition. Some application of the results to medical data processing is considered.