The Kaplan-Meier (or product limit) estimator is a nonparametric (or distribution free) estimator of a survival distribution S(t). It was derived by Kaplan and Meier in 1958 as a direct generalization of the sample survivor function in presence of censored data. [Source: Encyclopedia of Epidemiology; Kaplan-Meier Method]
Kaplan-Meier method
methods
statistics and research methods