Bias-Corrected and Variance-Corrected MLE for the New Median Based Unit Weibull Distribution (MBUW)

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Authors: iman Mohamed Attia Abd-Elkhalik Abo-Elreesh
Cited by: 0

Abstract

In this paper, the author discusses the MLE of a new unit distribution called Median-Based unit Weibull (MBUW), previously outlined in another article. The distribution has two parameters, alpha and beta , and the author focuses on the bias corrected MLE, particularly useful for small to moderate samples. The author elaborates on the well-known corrective approach that other researchers have applied for estimating the bias-corrected MLE in various distributions. Additionally, the author presents a new re-parameterization for the negative Log- Likelihood because the two parameters of the MBUW distribution are highly correlated. This correlation, which varies depending on the data, can be either linear or nonlinear and may be positive or negative. It is identified as the primary cause of high variance or even infinite variance, complicating the construction of confidence intervals. The author refers to this method as the variance-corrected MLE. To address this correlation, the author defines one parameter beta in terms of the other parameter alpha leading to re-parametrization of the negative Log-Likelihood. Consequently, the author estimates the parameter alpha and then substitutes it into the relationship to get the other parameter beta. The Nelder-Mead algorithm is utilized for the MLE process. Furthermore, the author employs the expected Fisher information matrix to estimate the variance of alpha, then uses the delta method to derive the variance of beta. The author also applies the bias-corrected MLE and compares the estimated parameters to those obtained through the variance-corrected approach. The results show that the parameters are nearly identical. The bias of the estimated alpha is far less than the bias of the estimated beta. Other statistical indices remain nearly equal before and after deploying the bias-corrected MLE, highlighting the effective performance of the variance-corrected MLE in estimating both parameters and their variances. Thus, this new approach helps mitigate the correlation between the two parameters. The MBUW distribution fits the datasets used in the paper, although some well-known unit distributions may slightly outperform MBUW regarding goodness-of-fit (GoF) tests such as the KS-test, CVM test, and AD test, along with indices like AIC, CAIC, BIC, HQIC, and nLL. However, due to the greater dependency between its two parameters compared to other well-known unit distributions like the Beta and Kumaraswamy distributions, the author felt compelled to explore solutions to mitigate the correlation and compare this solution to the established corrective approach of the bias-corrected MLE. This new variance-corrected approach yields minimal bias. This is a galley Proof under publication, waiting for Bank of America to transfer the APC to HDFC BANK LTD in India via SWIFT bank transfer for the sake of the Science Domain (Asian Research Journal of Mathematics)

Fields of Study & Subjects

Statistical Distribution Estimation and Applications Probability and Statistical Research Reliability and Maintenance Optimization

Publication details

Journal / source
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Publication date
6 February 2026