JMASM24: Numerical Computing for Third-Order Power Method Polynomials (Excel)
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Published
Nov 1, 2006
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Todd C. Headrick
Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
Abstract
The power method polynomial transformation is a popular procedure used for simulating univariate and multivariate non-normal distributions. It requires software that solves simultaneous nonlinear equations. Potential users of the power method may not have access to commercial software packages (e.g., Mathematica, Fortran). Therefore, algorithms are presented in the more commonly available Excel 2003 spreadsheets. The algorithms solve for (1) coefficients for polynomials of order three, (2) intermediate correlations and Cholesky factorizations for multivariate data generation, and (3) the values of skew and kurtosis for determining if a transformation will produce a valid power method probability density function.
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