Run permutation tests and correct the full family
Test predeclared Iris group comparisons, use the Monte Carlo +1 correction and reconcile joint Benjamini–Hochberg adjustment.
Goal and how to run
This lesson assumes basic Python knowledge. Read each method and caption before changing parameters. AI exercises are optional; no AI account is needed for the core workflow. Data lives in notebook metadata, so there is no companion data download. Keep the notebook saved in the active working folder.
Your goal is to understand the research question, execute transparent calculations, check the results, and state the limits of the conclusion.
Setup and parameters
from pathlib import Path
import base64, gzip, hashlib, json, platform
import numpy as np
import pandas as pd
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
from IPython.display import display, HTML
from scipy.stats import false_discovery_control
from IPython.display import display as _display
def display(value):
if isinstance(value,pd.DataFrame):
table=value.to_html(max_rows=12,escape=True)
style="<style>.vibeit-readable-table{max-width:100%;overflow-x:auto}.vibeit-readable-table table{width:max-content;max-width:none;border-collapse:collapse}.vibeit-readable-table td,.vibeit-readable-table th{white-space:nowrap!important;word-break:normal!important;overflow-wrap:normal!important}</style>"
return _display(HTML(style+'<div class="vibeit-readable-table">'+table+'</div>'))
return _display(value)
RECIPE_ID='ma06-permutation-tests'
OUTPUT_DIR=Path.cwd()/"results"/RECIPE_ID
plt.rcParams.update({"figure.dpi":120,"font.size":10,"axes.spines.top":False,"axes.spines.right":False,
"axes.prop_cycle":plt.cycler(color=["#18785f","#416aa6","#bc6541","#9974a5"])})
print("Python:",platform.python_version(),"; NumPy:",np.__version__,"; Pandas:",pd.__version__)
print("Working folder:",Path.cwd())
print("Core data mode: embedded snapshot; no network requests")
Python: 3.13.13 ; NumPy: 2.5.3 ; Pandas: 3.0.6 Working folder: /Users/zhiluo/Developer/vibeit-cookbook/cookbook/downloads Core data mode: embedded snapshot; no network requests
Load the embedded snapshot
def load_snapshot(recipe_id, expected_sha256, snapshot_key):
"""Read embedded data from this notebook, including a renamed copy."""
for path in sorted(Path.cwd().glob("*.ipynb")):
try:
notebook = json.loads(path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
metadata = notebook.get("metadata", {}).get("vibeit_cookbook", {})
blob = metadata.get("snapshots", {}).get(snapshot_key)
if metadata.get("recipe_id") != recipe_id or not blob:
continue
if blob.get("sha256") != expected_sha256:
continue
raw = gzip.decompress(base64.b64decode(blob["gzip_base64"], validate=True))
if hashlib.sha256(raw).hexdigest() != expected_sha256:
raise ValueError("Embedded snapshot checksum mismatch: " + snapshot_key)
return json.loads(raw)
except (OSError, json.JSONDecodeError):
continue
raise FileNotFoundError(
"Save/open the complete .ipynb in the active working folder. "
"The embedded snapshot could not be located for " + recipe_id)
SNAPSHOT_HASHES={'iris': 'cb2512f34911979eef3a42b7a9e6fbc6ca566fd2c0eaa7bd86daefd7ac1cf5ad'}
def snapshot(key):
return load_snapshot(RECIPE_ID,SNAPSHOT_HASHES[key],key)
print("Embedded snapshots:",list(SNAPSHOT_HASHES))
Embedded snapshots: ['iris']
Read the method functions
def audit_numeric_table(frame,columns):
"""Audit observed rows; never silently impute or remove them."""
if frame.empty or frame.index.has_duplicates:
raise ValueError('Expected a nonempty table with unique row IDs')
missing=[name for name in columns if name not in frame.columns]
if missing:raise ValueError('Missing required columns: '+str(missing))
values=frame[columns].to_numpy(dtype=float)
if not np.isfinite(values).all():raise ValueError('Non-finite measurements; inspect missing values explicitly')
return {'rows':len(frame),'features':len(columns),'finite':True,'duplicate_measurement_rows':int(frame[columns].duplicated().sum())}
print("Method ready: audit_numeric_table")
Method ready: audit_numeric_table
def permutation_mean_test(a,b,repetitions=1999,seed=42):
"""Two-sided independent-group mean permutation test, with the +1 correction."""
a=np.asarray(a,dtype=float);b=np.asarray(b,dtype=float)
if a.ndim!=1 or b.ndim!=1 or min(len(a),len(b))<2 or not np.isfinite(np.r_[a,b]).all() or repetitions<1:
raise ValueError('Need two finite groups and positive permutation count')
observed=float(a.mean()-b.mean());pool=np.r_[a,b];rng=np.random.default_rng(seed)
null=np.empty(repetitions)
for j in range(repetitions):
shuffled=rng.permutation(pool);null[j]=shuffled[:len(a)].mean()-shuffled[len(a):].mean()
exceedances=int(np.sum(np.abs(null)>=abs(observed)))
return dict(difference=observed,p_value=(exceedances+1)/(repetitions+1),null_differences=null,exceedances=exceedances)
print("Method ready: permutation_mean_test")
Method ready: permutation_mean_test
def bh_adjust(pvalues):
p = np.asarray(pvalues,dtype=float)
if not len(p):
return p.copy()
if not np.isfinite(p).all() or (p<0).any() or (p>1).any():
raise ValueError("p-values must be finite and in [0,1]")
order = np.argsort(p,kind="stable")
adjusted = np.minimum.accumulate((p[order]*len(p)/np.arange(1,len(p)+1))[::-1])[::-1]
result = np.empty_like(p); result[order] = np.minimum(adjusted,1)
return result
print("Method ready: bh_adjust")
Method ready: bh_adjust
Data and model boundary
Analytic functions and Monte Carlo points are mathematical teaching models, not experimental measurements. When Iris observations are used, row exchangeability and the sampling design remain assumptions; convenience records alone do not establish population representativeness. Numerical discretization error is distinct from sampling uncertainty.
Steps
1. Predeclare the entire comparison family
Compare every pair of the three source groups for each of four measurements: 12 tests. The null requires group-label exchangeability for each pooled comparison. Taxonomic convenience measurements do not provide randomized treatment assignment or representative population sampling.
iris=snapshot("iris")
frame=pd.DataFrame(iris["rows"],columns=iris["columns"])
features=list(frame.columns[:4])
audit=audit_numeric_table(frame,features)
assert len(frame)==150 and frame["species"].nunique()==3
assert (frame[features]>0).all().all()
print("Audit:",audit,"; measurement unit: cm")
print("Source variant:",iris["variant"])
display(frame.head(8))
groups=sorted(frame.species.unique());pairs=[(groups[i],groups[j]) for i in range(3) for j in range(i+1,3)]
records=[];first=None
for feature in features:
for a,b in pairs:
result=permutation_mean_test(frame.loc[frame.species.eq(a),feature],frame.loc[frame.species.eq(b),feature],repetitions=1999,seed=42)
records.append({"feature":feature,"group_a":a,"group_b":b,"mean_difference_cm":result["difference"],"p_value":result["p_value"],"exceedances":result["exceedances"]})
if first is None:first=result
results=pd.DataFrame(records);assert len(results)==12
display(results.head(8))
Audit: {'rows': 150, 'features': 4, 'finite': True, 'duplicate_measurement_rows': 3} ; measurement unit: cm
Source variant: Original UCI iris.data; no silent correction of the two documented transcription discrepancies
| sepal_length_cm | sepal_width_cm | petal_length_cm | petal_width_cm | species | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 5.1 | 3.5 | 1.4 | 0.2 | Iris-setosa |
| 1 | 4.9 | 3.0 | 1.4 | 0.2 | Iris-setosa |
| 2 | 4.7 | 3.2 | 1.3 | 0.2 | Iris-setosa |
| 3 | 4.6 | 3.1 | 1.5 | 0.2 | Iris-setosa |
| 4 | 5.0 | 3.6 | 1.4 | 0.2 | Iris-setosa |
| 5 | 5.4 | 3.9 | 1.7 | 0.4 | Iris-setosa |
| 6 | 4.6 | 3.4 | 1.4 | 0.3 | Iris-setosa |
| 7 | 5.0 | 3.4 | 1.5 | 0.2 | Iris-setosa |
| feature | group_a | group_b | mean_difference_cm | p_value | exceedances | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | sepal_length_cm | Iris-setosa | Iris-versicolor | -0.930 | 0.0005 | 0 |
| 1 | sepal_length_cm | Iris-setosa | Iris-virginica | -1.582 | 0.0005 | 0 |
| 2 | sepal_length_cm | Iris-versicolor | Iris-virginica | -0.652 | 0.0005 | 0 |
| 3 | sepal_width_cm | Iris-setosa | Iris-versicolor | 0.648 | 0.0005 | 0 |
| 4 | sepal_width_cm | Iris-setosa | Iris-virginica | 0.444 | 0.0005 | 0 |
| 5 | sepal_width_cm | Iris-versicolor | Iris-virginica | -0.204 | 0.0050 | 9 |
| 6 | petal_length_cm | Iris-setosa | Iris-versicolor | -2.796 | 0.0005 | 0 |
| 7 | petal_length_cm | Iris-setosa | Iris-virginica | -4.088 | 0.0005 | 0 |
2. Inspect the null resampling distribution
The histogram is the first comparison’s mean difference after randomly permuting pooled group labels. The observed difference is marked as a line. Use (extreme+1)/(B+1), so a finite Monte Carlo test never reports p=0.
fig,ax=plt.subplots(figsize=(7,4));ax.hist(first["null_differences"],bins=40,edgecolor="white")
ax.axvline(first["difference"],color="red",label="Observed difference")
ax.set(xlabel="Permuted mean difference (cm)",ylabel="Permutations",title="First predeclared comparison under exchangeability");ax.legend();plt.tight_layout();plt.show()
3. Correct all twelve tests together
BH is applied to the whole predeclared family, including large p values. The chart uses log-scale p/q values and a 0.05 reference line. BH error-rate guarantees have dependence assumptions; adjustment does not fix sampling bias or turn association into causation.
results["BH_q"]=bh_adjust(results.p_value.to_numpy())
results["Bonferroni"]=np.minimum(results.p_value*len(results),1)
labels=[f"{r.feature.replace('_cm','')} {r.group_a.replace('Iris-','')} / {r.group_b.replace('Iris-','')}" for r in results.itertuples()]
fig,ax=plt.subplots(figsize=(9,6));ax.plot(results.p_value,np.arange(12),"o",label="Raw p");ax.plot(results.BH_q,np.arange(12),"x",label="BH q")
ax.axvline(.05,color="gray",linestyle="--");ax.set_yticks(np.arange(12),labels,fontsize=8)
ax.set(xscale="log",xlabel="Probability / adjusted value",ylabel="Predeclared test",title="All comparisons share one adjustment family");ax.legend();plt.tight_layout();plt.show()
4. Separate measured effect size from p values
The heatmap uses mean differences in cm, not adjusted p values. Its sign depends on the declared group order. A small p value does not supply an effect-size unit, population claim or causal interpretation.
effect=results.mean_difference_cm.to_numpy().reshape(4,3)
limit=np.max(np.abs(effect));fig,ax=plt.subplots(figsize=(7,4));im=ax.imshow(effect,cmap="coolwarm",vmin=-limit,vmax=limit)
ax.set_yticks(range(4),features);ax.set_xticks(range(3),[a.replace("Iris-","")+" / "+b.replace("Iris-","") for a,b in pairs],rotation=20,ha="right")
for i in range(4):
for j in range(3):ax.text(j,i,f"{effect[i,j]:.2f}",ha="center",va="center")
fig.colorbar(im,ax=ax,label="Mean A − mean B (cm)");ax.set_title("Observed measurement differences");plt.tight_layout();plt.show()
5. Reconcile the Monte Carlo floor and independent BH
Verify the +1 formula, the 1/(B+1) lower bound and agreement with SciPy’s independent BH implementation. Export the entire family, not only comparisons passing a threshold.
assert np.allclose(results.p_value,(results.exceedances+1)/2000)
assert results.p_value.between(1/2000,1).all()
assert np.allclose(results.BH_q,false_discovery_control(results.p_value.to_numpy(),method="bh"))
assert (results.BH_q+1e-15>=results.p_value).all()
OUTPUT_DIR.mkdir(parents=True,exist_ok=True);results.to_csv(OUTPUT_DIR/"all-permutation-tests.csv",index=False)
pd.DataFrame({"null_mean_difference_cm":first["null_differences"]}).to_csv(OUTPUT_DIR/"first-null-distribution.csv",index=False)
print("Joint family:",len(results),"; Monte Carlo p floor:",1/2000,"; independent BH check passed")
Joint family: 12 ; Monte Carlo p floor: 0.0005 ; independent BH check passed
Exercises and reference explanation
- Explain the minimum attainable Monte Carlo p value.
- Explain why correction must include all predeclared tests.
Reference explanation. The +1 formula has minimum 1/(B+1). Restricting adjustment to already-small p values changes the family after observing data; BH also needs dependence assumptions.
Keep a copy before changing parameters. Compare old and new figures and record which inputs, calculations and conclusions changed.
Optional AI coding exercises
Prompt 1
Using NumPy/SciPy/Pandas/Matplotlib, increase permutations to 9999 while preserving the same twelve-test family.
Prompt 2
Using the same packages, compare BH and Bonferroni and annotate their different error-rate targets.
Human acceptance. Verify the +1 correction, all twelve exported rows, independent SciPy BH agreement and cm effect-size units.
Review the edited source, then manually run affected cells and subsequent checks. Ask the assistant to explain the purpose, packages and data provenance of its changes, and reconcile that explanation with actual output.
Optional online extension
RUN_ONLINE_UPDATE=False
if RUN_ONLINE_UPDATE:
import requests
try:
response=requests.get('https://archive.ics.uci.edu/dataset/53/iris',timeout=20)
response.raise_for_status()
print("Source:",response.url)
print(response.text[:700])
except requests.RequestException as error:
print("Online extension unavailable:",type(error).__name__,str(error)[:160])
else:
print("Online extension skipped; embedded core data unchanged")
Online extension skipped; embedded core data unchanged
Sources, snapshots and next steps
- UCI iris — CC BY 4.0; credit UCI and original dataset authors; retrieved 2026-10-09. SHA-256
d11fe30213d36434a0879aab7cb00ce3c812eb7ba2495874438abff7b7b762e9. Extract iris.data from original download; preserve all rows and declared units; no imputation. Fisher, R. (1936). Iris. UCI Machine Learning Repository. DOI: 10.24432/C56C76.
Next steps. Transfer these methods to your own public or authorized data while retaining input checks, recorded parameters and result validation. Document the new experimental design and method limits; this example does not validate a new experiment. Full data licenses and generation instructions accompany the cookbook.