Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Sequential probability ratio test
open-in-new
<p>The sequential probability ratio test (SPRT) is a specific <a href="/facts/Sequential_analysis/K8nla6cd">sequential hypothesis test</a>, developed by <a href="/facts/Abraham_Wald/FuechEoI">Abraham Wald</a> and later proven to be optimal by Wald and <a href="/facts/Jacob_Wolfowitz/hkPjzgfo">Jacob Wolfowitz</a>. <a href="/facts/Neyman%25E2%2580%2593Pearson_lemma/FdHmoH6c">Neyman and Pearson's 1933 result</a> inspired Wald to reformulate it as a sequential analysis problem. The Neyman-Pearson lemma, by contrast, offers a <a href="/facts/Rule_of_thumb/RopfGsJ0">rule of thumb</a> for when all the data is collected (and its likelihood ratio known). </p><p>While originally developed for use in <a href="/facts/Quality_control/lnXbvqvp">quality control</a> studies in the realm of manufacturing, SPRT has been formulated for use in the computerized testing of human examinees as a termination criterion. </p>