Two-Sample Testing with Block-Wise Missingness in Multi-Source Data (2508.17411v1)

Abstract: Multi-source and multi-modal datasets are increasingly common in scientific research, yet they often exhibit block-wise missingness, where entire data sources or modalities are systematically absent for subsets of subjects. This structured form of missingness presents significant challenges for statistical analysis, particularly for two-sample hypothesis testing. Standard approaches such as imputation or complete-case analysis can introduce bias or result in substantial information loss, especially when the missingness mechanism is not random. To address this methodological gap, we propose the Block-Pattern Enhanced Test (BPET), a general framework for two-sample testing that directly accounts for block-wise missingness without requiring imputation or deletion of observations. As a concrete instantiation, we develop the Block-wise Rank In Similarity graph Edge-count (BRISE) test, which extends rank-based similarity graph methods to settings with block-wise missing data. Under mild conditions, we establish that the null distribution of BRISE converges to a chi-squared distribution. Simulation studies show that BRISE consistently controls the type I error rate and achieves good statistical power under a wide range of alternatives. Applications to two real-world datasets with block-wise missingness further demonstrate the practical utility of our method in identifying meaningful distributional differences.