Mode (statistics)

Abstract: Many statistical methods involve summarizing a probability distribution by a region of the sample space covering a specified probability. One method of selecting such a region is to require it to contain points of relatively high density. Highest density regions are particularly useful for displaying multimodal distributions and, in such cases, may consist of several disjoint subsets—one for each local mode. In this paper, I propose a simple method for computing a highest density region from any given (possibly multivariate) density f(x) that is bounded and continuous in x. Several examples of the use of highest density regions in statistical graphics are also given. A new form of boxplot is proposed based on highest density regions; versions in one and two dimensions are given. Highest density regions in higher dimensions are also discussed and plotted.

Abstract: A possibility measure can encode a family of probability measures. This fact is the basis for a transformation of a probability distribution into a possibility distribution that generalises the notion of best interval substitute to a probability distribution with prescribed confidence. This paper describes new properties of this transformation, by relating it with the well-known probability inequalities of Bienayme-Chebychev and Camp-Meidel. The paper also provides a justification of symmetric triangular fuzzy numbers in the spirit of such inequalities. It shows that the cuts of such a triangular fuzzy number contains the “confidence intervals” of any symmetric probability distribution with the same mode and support. This result is also the basis of a fuzzy approach to the representation of uncertainty in measurement. It consists in representing measurements by a family of nested intervals with various confidence levels. From the operational point of view, the proposed representation is compatible with the recommendations of the ISO Guide for the expression of uncertainty in physical measurement.