EDA on the asymptotic normality of the standardized sequential stopping times, Part-II: Distribution-free models

Abstract

Abstract In sequential analysis, an experimenter gathers information regarding an unknown functional (parameter) by observing random samples in successive steps. We discuss a number of distribution-free scenarios under a variety of loss functions. The number of observations gathered upon termination is a positive integer-valued random variable, customarily denoted by N. Often, a standardized version of N would follow an approximate normal distribution in the asymptotic sense. We provide exploratory data analysis (EDA) with the help of a number of interesting illustrations. We do so via large-scale simulation studies to demonstrate broad applicability of the purely sequential methodologies along with the appropriateness of asymptotic normality of the standardized stopping variables as a practical and useful guideline.