On the mid-p-value of a test statistic with arbitrary real support
Patrick Rubin‐Delanchy, Nicholas A. Heard · arXiv (Cornell University) · 2015
The mid-p-value is a proposed improvement on the ordinary p-value for the case where the test statistic is partially or completely discrete. In this case, the ordinary p-value is conservative, meaning that its null distribution is larger than a uniform distribution on the unit interval, in the usual stochastic order. The mid-p-value is not conservative. However, as is first recognised in this article, its null distribution is dominated by the uniform distribution in a different stochastic order, called the convex order. The property leads us to discover some new probability bounds on sums, products and other functions of mid-p-values, which can be used, for example, to combine results from different hypothesis tests. Furthermore, some commonly encountered conditions are identified where combining mid-p-values, but not ordinary p-values, leads to consistent inference. Our main message is that mid-p-values need not be considered `ad-hoc'; they have some definite advantages and, under the null hypothesis, they are simply related to the uniform distribution by a different stochastic order.