Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2006 / iii / Paper 41 / 4 / Solution

For independent binomial distributions, the log-likelihood, up to known binomial coefficients, isThe saturated statistical model maximizes each term at ${\tilde{p}}_i=y_i/n_i$. Under the logit link, the fitted probabilities are ${\hat{p}}_i=(1+e^{-x_i^T\hat{\beta }}{)}^{-1}$. Subtracting the fitted log-likelihood from the saturated log-likelihood gives the binomial devianceA zero-count summand uses the continuous convention $0\log 0=0$. For the restricted model, replace ${\hat{p}}_i$ by ${\hat{p}}_i^{(0)}=(1+e^{-{\tilde{x}}_i^T\hat{\tilde{\beta }}}{)}^{-1}$ to obtain $D_0$. Since the saturated likelihood cancels, $D_0-D_1=2({\hat{\ell }}_1-{\hat{\ell }}_0)$ is the likelihood-ratio test statistic. For the nested restriction setting $p-k$ coefficients to zero, Wilks theorem gives the asymptotic chi-squared distribution ${\chi }_{p-k}^2$ under regularity and an interior true parameter; reject for a large difference.

For the six anther cells, ${\omega }_0$ gives a common success probability, ${\omega }_1$ gives a separate probability for each storage condition, ${\omega }_2$ gives a common intercept and a log-force slope, and ${\omega }_3$ gives storage-specific intercepts with a common log-force slope. Their parameter counts are $1,2,2,3$, so their residual statistical degrees of freedom are $5,4,4,3$. In ${\omega }_3$, storage has a constant effect on log odds; multiplying force by $r$ multiplies the odds by $r^{\beta }$ in either storage group.

The relevant nested likelihood-ratio tests at the $5\%$ level are:

The two two-parameter models ${\omega }_1$ and ${\omega }_2$ are not nested, so their deviance difference has no ordinary nested chi-squared distribution calibration. The preferred parsimonious model is ${\omega }_1$, with a storage effect and no log-force effect. Its deviance goodness-of-fit test is acceptable: $D_1=5.173<9.49$ on four statistical degrees of freedom. The common-probability model also passes its separate goodness-of-fit comparison, $10.452<11.07$, but this does not contradict the relative evidence for adding storage: the two tests assess different null hypotheses. These are large-sample approximations; sufficiently large expected successes and failures, not merely the number of anthers, underpin their calibration.