Capturing the severity of type II errors in high-dimensional multiple testing

Abstract

The severity of type II errors is frequently ignored when deriving a multiple testing procedure, even though utilizing it properly can greatly help in making correct decisions. This paper puts forward a theory behind developing a multiple testing procedure that can incorporate the type II error severity and is optimal in the sense of minimizing a measure of false non-discoveries among all procedures controlling a measure of false discoveries. The theory is developed under a general model allowing arbitrary dependence by taking a compound decision theoretic approach to multiple testing with a loss function incorporating the type II error severity. We present this optimal procedure in its oracle form and offer numerical evidence of its superior performance over relevant competitors.