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In statistics, maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) is a method of estimating the parameters of an assumed probability distribution, given some observed data.This is achieved by maximizing a likelihood function so that, under the assumed statistical model, the observed data is most probable.
For maximum likelihood estimation, the existence of a global maximum of the likelihood function is of the utmost importance. By the extreme value theorem, it suffices that the likelihood function is continuous on a compact parameter space for the maximum likelihood estimator to exist. [7]
In statistics, the likelihood-ratio test is a hypothesis test that involves comparing the goodness of fit of two competing statistical models, typically one found by maximization over the entire parameter space and another found after imposing some constraint, based on the ratio of their likelihoods.
For example, a maximum-likelihood estimate is the point where the derivative of the likelihood function with respect to the parameter is zero; thus, a maximum-likelihood estimator is a critical point of the score function. [8] In many applications, such M-estimators can be thought of as estimating characteristics of the population.
Combining the likelihood principle with the law of likelihood yields the consequence that the parameter value which maximizes the likelihood function is the value which is most strongly supported by the evidence. This is the basis for the widely used method of maximum likelihood.
In statistics, the restricted (or residual, or reduced) maximum likelihood (REML) approach is a particular form of maximum likelihood estimation that does not base estimates on a maximum likelihood fit of all the information, but instead uses a likelihood function calculated from a transformed set of data, so that nuisance parameters have no effect.
Scoring algorithm, also known as Fisher's scoring, [1] is a form of Newton's method used in statistics to solve maximum likelihood equations numerically, named after Ronald Fisher. Sketch of derivation
A marginal likelihood is a likelihood function that has been integrated over the parameter space.In Bayesian statistics, it represents the probability of generating the observed sample for all possible values of the parameters; it can be understood as the probability of the model itself and is therefore often referred to as model evidence or simply evidence.