Masking for discrete variables - ARCHIVED

The use of discrete variables having known statistical distributions in the masking of data on discrete variables has been under study for some time. This paper presents a few results from our research on this topic. The consequences of sampling with and without replacement from finite populations are one principal interest. Estimates of first and second order moments which attenuate or adjust for the additional variation due to masking of known type are developed. The impact of masking of the original data on the correlation structure of concomitantly measured discrete variables is considered and the need for the further development of results for analyses of multivariate data is discussed.