ON TESTS OF EQUIVALENCE

Abstract

We will study here a general method for constructing equivalence tests for problems with onedimensional or multidimensional parameter. In the biometric field, the equivalence tests have been studied by many authors under the name of bioequivalence methods. Our general method is closely related to a method for acceptance sampling in the multiparameter case by Berger (1982) and a bioequivalence test method by Schuirmann (1981) for normal distributions and onedimensional parameter. We combine in a general form the ideas of two-sidedness by Schuirmann (1981) and the ideas for multiparameter handling by Berger (1982). We give a number of parametric and nonparametric examples where the general method is used and we illustrate the methods power properties by simulation results.