A group sequential test of circular data using the von Mises distribution

Abstract

In this study, the group sequential test is suggested for the mean direction parameter of the von Mises distribution when the concentration parameter is known and unknown. An application of the proposed test is illustrated by using a medical data of the patients, who were complained about internal rotation angles of the shoulder and treated in a rehabilitation and physical therapy center in Eskisehir, Turkey. It is shown that the results of the study demonstrate that the group sequential test can provide a great advantage not only for linear data but also for circular data in terms of sample size.