Name: Qing Liu

Firstname: Qing

Title: Research Fellow

Institution: J&J Pharmaceutical Research and Development

Street: 920 Route 202, P.O.Box 300

City: Raritan

Zip-Code: NJ 08869

Country: USA

Phone: (908) 927-3604

Fax: (908) 526-5196

Email: qliu2@prdus.jnj.com

Authors: Qing Liu

Title: On the SMART Principles for Multiple Comparisons

Abstract: Should the Type I error rate be controlled to account for multiplicity of hypothesis testing? This question can be both confusing and controversial when examined from seemingly opposing points of view. We propose that the context of experiment be taken into account to remove much of the confusion and controversy. On this basis, the principles of Separation, Mixing, Ascending hierarchy, Relevancy, and Timeliness (SMART) are developed for formulating a family of hypotheses, for which a strong control of the Type I error rate is not necessary. We define the notion of proper control and also provide a SMART testing method for a SMART family of hypotheses. Examples are given for illustration.