Exact Confidence Bounds in Discrete Models -- Algorithmic Aspects of Sterne's Method

Abstract

In this manuscript we review two methods to construct exact confidence bounds for an unknown real parameter in a general class of discrete statistical models. These models include the binomial family, the Poisson family as well as distributions connected to odds ratios in two-by-two tables. In particular, we discuss Sterne's (1954) method in our general framework and present an explicit algorithm for the computation of the resulting confidence bounds. The methods are illustrated with various examples.