Assessing data sets

A method for assessing a multi-parametric data set, said method comprising:—

• (a) inputting data from the multi-parametric data set;
• (b) determining differences between populations of objects within the data set;
• and
• (c) generating a fingerprint of the populations based on differences between the objects.

A method of assessing a data set with respect to one or more other data sets, each data set being formed from a sequence of elements, each element having a respective one of a number of values, the method including:—

• (a) determining polymorphic elements having different values between the data set and any other data set;
• (b) determining a discriminatory power for at least some of the polymorphic elements, the discriminatory power representing the usefulness of the polymorphic element in determining the similarity between the data set and any other data set;
• and
• (c) selecting one or more of the polymorphic elements in accordance with the determined discriminatory powers.

A method of assessing a nucleotide sequence data set which respect to one or more other nucleotide sequence data sets, each nucleotide in each data set having a respective one of a number of values, the method including:

• (a) determining polymorphic nucleotides having different values between the data set and any other data set;
• (b) determining a discriminatory power for at least some of the polymorphic nucleotides, the discriminatory power representing the usefulness of the polymorphic nucleotides in determining the similarity between the data set and any other data set;
• and
• (c) selecting one or more of the polymorphic nucleotides in accordance with the determined discriminatory powers.

A processing system for assessing a data set with respect to one or more other data sets, each data set being formed from a sequence of elements, each element having a respective one of a number of values, the processing system being adapted to:—

• (a) compare the value of each element of the data set with the value of corresponding elements in each other data set;
• (b) identify one or more elements having different values between the data sets;
• and
• (c) generate an indication of the one or more elements.

A computer program product including computer executable code which when executed on a suitable processing system causes the processing system to:—

• (a) compare the value of each element of the data set with the value of corresponding elements in each other data set;
• (b) identify one or more elements having different values between the data sets;
• and
• (c) generate an indication of the one or more elements.

A method for analyzing a data set to determine a business's financial well being, said method comprising the steps of:

• compiling a data set for two or more businesses, said data set comprising a data string for each business;
• identifying one or more variable parameters, said variable parameters present in each of the data strings;
• comprising the one or more variable parameters between at least two of the data strings;
• and
• identifying a subset of the businesses on the basis of the comparison.