The k-in-a-row up-and-down design, revisited.

The percentile-finding experimental design known variously as 'forced-choice fixed-staircase', 'geometric up-and-down' or 'k-in-a-row' (KR) was introduced by Wetherill four decades ago. To date, KR has been by far the most widely used up-and-down (U&D) design for estimating non-median percentiles; it is implemented most commonly in sensory studies. However, its statistical properties have not been fully documented, and the existence of a unique mode in its asymptotic treatment distribution has been recently disputed.Here we revisit the KR design and its basic properties. We find that KR does generate a unique stationary mode near its target percentile, and also displays better operational characteristics than two other U&D designs that have been studied more extensively. Supporting proofs and numerical calculations are presented. A recent experimental example from anesthesiology serves to highlight some of the 'up-and-down' design family's properties and advantages. Copyright (c) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.