Unit information: Nonparametric Regression in 2009/10

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Unit name Nonparametric Regression
Unit code MATHM6004
Credit points 10
Level of study M/7
Teaching block(s) Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director Dr. Kovac
Open unit status Not open
Pre-requisites

None

Co-requisites

None

School/department School of Mathematics
Faculty Faculty of Science

Description including Unit Aims

A regression function is an important tool for describing the relation between two or more random variables. In real life problems, this function is usually unknown but can be estimated from a sample of observations. In the most simple cases, we have enough information on the problem at hand to assume that the regression curve is known up to the value of some coefficients (for example, it is a straight line, but we need to estimate the coefficients of the line). Nonparametric methods are flexible techniques dedicated to treat more general cases: here, we construct a good estimator of the regression function without assuming that it has a specified shape. In this module, we will introduce popular nonparametric methods of regression estimation: local polynomial regression, regularisation techniques and wavelet thresholding. We will see how these methods can be applied in practice.