Assessing data sets to determine polymorphic elements

摘要

Disclosed is a method of assessing a data set with respect to one or more other data sets, where each data set is formed from a sequence of elements and each element has one of a number of values selected from a predetermined set of values. The method includes the steps of: (a) determining polymorphic elements having different values between the data set and any other data set in a given class of data sets, (b) determining a discriminatory power for at least some of the polymorphic elements between the data set and any other data set, where the discriminatory power is determined by use of a formula, and (c) selecting one or more of the polymorphic elements in accordance with the determined discriminatory powers.