SELECTING THE m POPULATIONS WITH LARGEST MEANS FROM k NORMAL POPULATIONS WITH UNKNOWN VARIANCES

Summary This paper gives a two-sample procedure for selecting the m populations with the largest means from k normal populations with unknown variances. The method is a generalization of a recent work by Ofosu [1973] and hence should find wider practical applications. The experimenter takes an initial sample of preset size N0 from each population and computes an unbiased estimate of its variance. From this estimate he determines the second sample size for the population according to a table presented for this purpose. The populations associated with the m largest overall sample means will be selected. The procedure is shown to satisfy a confidence requirement similar to that of Ofosu.