Goodness-of-fit Test for Generalized Functional Linear Models via Projection Averaging

Abstract: Assessing model adequacy is a crucial step in regression analysis, ensuring the validity of statistical inferences. For Generalized Functional Linear Models (GFLMs), which are widely used for modeling relationships between scalar responses and functional predictors, there is a recognized need for formal goodness-of-fit testing procedures. Current literature on this specific topic remains limited. This paper introduces a novel goodness-of-fit test for GFLMs. The test statistic is formulated as a U-statistic derived from a Cramér-von-Mises metric integrated over all one-dimensional projections of the functional predictor. This projection averaging strategy is designed to effectively mitigate the curse of dimensionality. We establish the asymptotic normality of the test statistic under the null hypothesis and prove the consistency under the alternatives. As the asymptotic variance of the limiting null distribution can be complex for practical use, we also propose practical bootstrap resampling methods for both continuous and discrete responses to compute p-values. Simulation studies confirm that the proposed test demonstrates good power performance across various settings, showing advantages over existing methods.