Comparison of parametric and bootstrap approaches to obtaining confidence intervals for logspline density estimation

In earlier articles, we developed an automated methodology for using cubic splines with tail linear constraints to model the logarithm of a univariate density function. This methodology was subsequently modified so that the knots were determined by stepwise addition-deletion and the remaining coefficients were determined by maximum likelihood estimation. An alternative approach, referred to as the free knot spline procedure, is to use the maximum likelihood method to estimate the knot locations as well as the remaining coefficients. This article compares various approaches to constructing confidence intervals for logspline density estimates, for both the stepwise procedure and the free knot procedure. It is concluded that a variation of the bootstrap, in which only a limited number of bootstrap simulations are used to estimate standard errors that are combined with standard normal quantiles, seems to perform the best, especially when coverages and computing time are both taken into account.