A Best Sequential Test for Symmetry When the Probability of Termination is Not One

Abstract

A sequential test of a statistical hypothesis $H_0$ versus $H_1$ is said to be a test of Robbins type if there is a positive probability that the test will not stop if $H_0$ is true. Tests of this nature were introduced for testing the Bernoulli case by Darling and Robbins [1]; an earlier paper of Farrell [2] deals implicitly with the asymptotic expected sample size of such tests for testing the hypothesis $\theta = 0$ in the parametrized family of generalized density functions $h(\theta)e^{\theta x} d\mu$.