Multiple Sample Models

In the case of K independent samples, the Chi-square statistic is essentially the sum of the Chi-squares computed on independent samples. Consequently, most of what was stated about the single sample estimation process remains true in the multiple sample case.

Specifically, for each sample k having sample size Nk, one computes a discrepancy function Fk in the same manner as with a single sample. These are then combined to produce an overall discrepancy function of the form

(155)

where

(156)

This overall discrepancy function F is minimized during the iterative process. The Chi-square statistic is then computed as

(157)