i AN IMPROVED SPLINE SMOOTHING METHOD FOR ESTIMATION IN THE PRESENCE OF AUTOCORRELATED ERRORS BY ADAMS, Samuel Olorunfemi (04/68EP001) B.Sc. (Hons.) Statistics (Abuja) M.Sc. Statistics (Ilorin) A Thesis Submitted to the Department of Statistics, Faculty of Physical Sciences, University of Ilorin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Award of Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Statistics. September 2021