(Springer Series in Statistics) David A. Sprott-Statistical Inference in Science (Springer Series in Statistics)-Springer (2000).pdf

To Muriel
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Preface
This book is based on material presented in courses for fourth-year undergraduate
statistics students, masters and . statistics students over a number of years at
the University of Waterloo, Ontario, and Centro de Investigaci´on en Matem´aticas
(CIMAT), Guanajuato, M´exico. In any given course a selection of the material could
be used depending on the time available. A knowledge of probability up to the
level of J. G. Kalbfleisch, Probability and Statistical Inference, Volume 1, 2nd edition
(1979 Springer-Verlag) or the level of Feller, Introduction to Probability Theory and
its Applications, Volume 1, is assumed. The mathematical level requires only the
calculation of probability functions and densities, and transformations of variables
involving Jacobians. However, some algebraic dexterity would facilitate many of
these calculations.
I originally intended to end each chapter with a set of problems, as is customary.
But many of the problems involve analysis of data from ongoing research in the
journals, and it seemed that putting them at the end of a given chapter would limit
and prejudge how they could be approached. In addition, depending on the particular
aspect of the data being considered, the same problems would occur at the end of a
number of chapters. Therefore, it seemed preferable and also more realistic to put
them all at the end of the book in Chapter 11. This more closely emulates how
they occur in practice. In some cases both forward and backward references between
relevant sections and corresponding problems are given.
I am grateful to Professors J. K. Lindsey and R. Viveros for having read a pre-
liminary version of the manuscript and for offering many ments and
suggestions. I should like to thank the students of CIMAT who endured the courses
and notes that have culminated in this book, particularly J. A. Dom´ınguez, J. L.
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viii
Bat´un, and I. Sol´ıs, for their