CALCULATION OF DISCRIMINATING POWER FOR A SERIES OF CORRELATED ATTRIBUTES

• NCJ Number: 13698
• Journal: Journal of the Forensic Science Society Volume: 13 Issue: 4 Dated: (OCTOBER 1973) Pages: 291-295
• Author(s): K W SMALLDON; A C MOFFAT
• Date Published: 1973
• Length: 5 pages
• Corporate Author: Forensic Science Soc
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Statistics
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

DISCRIMINATING POWER IS DEFINED AS THE PROBABILITY OF DISCRIMINATING TWO DISTINCT SAMPLES SELECTED AT RANDOM FROM THE POPULATION OF INTEREST.

Abstract

PROCEDURES ARE DESCRIBED WHICH ENABLE THE DISCRIMINATING POWER TO BE CALCULATED FOR A SERIES OF SAMPLE ATTRIBUTES. THE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH ACCEPTABLE THEORETICAL SOLUTIONS CAN BE OBTAINED ARE ILLUSTRATED AND THEN A SIMPLE AND COMPLETELY GENERAL APPROACH IS DESCRIBED FOR ANY SERIES OF CORRELATED ATTRIBUTES. THE APPLICATION OF THE CONCEPT OF DISCRIMINATING POWER IS DISCUSSED AS AN AID TO THE SOLUTION OF THOSE MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS CONCERNED WITH THE CHOICE OF ATTRIBUTES WHICH SHOULD BE MEASURED IN ORDER TO MAXIMIZE THE AVERAGE DISCRIMINATION ACHIEVED ON A LONG-TERM BASIS. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT)