A practical tutorial on the use of nonparametric statistical tests as a methodology for comparing evolutionary and swarm intelligence algorithms

TLDR: The basics are discussed and a survey of a complete set of nonparametric procedures developed to perform both pairwise and multiple comparisons, for multi-problem analysis are given.

Abstract: a b s t r a c t The interest in nonparametric statistical analysis has grown recently in the field of computational intelligence. In many experimental studies, the lack of the required properties for a proper application of parametric procedures - independence, normality, and homoscedasticity - yields to nonparametric ones the task of performing a rigorous comparison among algorithms. In this paper, we will discuss the basics and give a survey of a complete set of nonparametric procedures developed to perform both pairwise and multiple comparisons, for multi-problem analysis. The test problems of the CEC'2005 special session on real parameter optimization will help to illustrate the use of the tests throughout this tutorial, analyzing the results of a set of well-known evolutionary and swarm intelligence algorithms. This tutorial is concluded with a compilation of considerations and recommendations, which will guide practitioners when using these tests to contrast their experimental results.