The choice of a statistic for testing hypotheses regarding seasonality

Abstract

This paper discusses statistical methods for testing hypotheses of seasonality in births across one year, using monthly frequencies. It argues that the Freedman test, a variant of the Kolmogorov-Smirnov one-sample test, and the Edwards test and its modifications are most appropriate for this purpose. These tests take into account the order of the monthly frequencies and have a higher power than the ordinary chi-square goodness-of-fit test, regarding seasonality. The paper addresses some points mentioned in earlier papers by McCullough, and O'Brien and Holbert.