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Virginia Tech

Testing for Changes in Trend in Water Quality Data

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

Time Series of water quality variables typically possess many of several characteristics which complicate analysis. Of interest to researchers is often the trend over time of the water quality variable. However, sometimes water quality variable levels appear to increase or decrease monotonically for a period of time then switch direction after some intervention affects the factors which have a causal relationship with the level of the variable. Naturally, when analyzed for trend as a whole, these time series usually do not provide significant results. The problem of testing for a change in trend is addressed, and a method for perfoming this test based on a test of equivalence of two modified Kendall's Tau nonparametric correlation coefficients (neither necessarily equal to zero) is presented. The test is made valid for use with serially correlated data by use of a new bootstrap method titled the effective sample size bootstrap. Further issues involved in applying this test to water quality variables are also addressed.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Ph. D.
Level thesis:degree_level
doctoral
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Statistics
Department dc:contributor.department
Statistics
Grantor dc:publisher
Virginia Tech
Year dc:date.issued
1999

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Darken, Patrick Fitzgerald
Chairs dc:contributor.committeechair
  • Smith, Eric P.
  • Holtzman, Golde I.
Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
  • Coakley, Clint W.
  • Foutz, Robert
  • Terrell, George R.

Subjects

dc:subject × 1

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • In Copyright

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Dc Identifier Other
etd-091099-132201
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/28936

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Virginia Tech
Base URL
vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Darken, Patrick Fitzgerald. Testing for Changes in Trend in Water Quality Data. doctoral thesis, Virginia Tech, 1999. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/28936