The classical Box-Pierce and Ljung-Box tests for auto-correlation of residuals possess severe deviations from nominal type I error rates. Previous studies have attempted to address this issue by either revising existing tests or designing new techniques. The Adjusted Box-Pierce achieves the best results with respect to attaining type I error rates closer to nominal values. This research paper proposes a further correction to the adjusted Box-Pierce test that possesses near perfect type I error rates. The approach is based on an inflation of the rejection region for all sample sizes and lags calculated via a linear model applied to simulated data that encompasses a large range of data scenarios. Our results show that the new approach possesses the best type I error rates of all goodness-of-fit time series statistics.

This a preprint and has not been peer reviewed. Data may be preliminary.