Method of path coefficients: a trademark of Sewall Wright.
This address is a tribute to a pioneer of population genetics, including human population genetics. The unique methodology employed by Sewall Wright in many genetic problems is the method of path coefficients. This essay traces the historical landmarks in the development of the path method and then shows how some of the conventional statistical results can be converted into expressions involving path coefficients. The construction of a path diagram to represent such statistical results is explained in terms of examples. In the last section an example of applying the path method to the problem of genetic linkage in a random mating population is given. I hope that, despite the ending of the Sewall Wright era, the path method will continue to serve the scientific world.
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Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, PA 15261.
D005828:Genetics, Population / Q000266:history; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D013223:Statistics as Topic / Q000266:history*