Z‐Transform Method for Pairwise Osteometric Pair‐matching, |
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Authors: | Julia D Warnke‐Sommer PhD Jeffrey James Lynch MSc Sachin S Pawaskar PhD Franklin E Damann PhD |
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Institution: | 1. Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education Fellow with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, 106 Peacekeeper Drive, Offutt AFB, NE;2. Department of Computer Science, University of Nebraska Omaha, 6001 Dodge St, Omaha, NE, 68182;3. Department of Pathology and Microbiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, S 42nd St & Emile St, Omaha, NE, 68182Corresponding author: Julia D. Warnke‐Sommer, Ph.D. E‐mail:;4. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, 106 Peacekeeper Drive, Offutt AFB, NE |
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Abstract: | A new pairwise osteometric pair‐matching approach based on the Z‐transform method is presented. In contrast to previous methods that perform a global t‐test on the summed skeletal element pair measurement distances, this approach performs t‐tests on each individual distance, facilitating the capture of measurement‐specific variation. This new approach is compared to published pairwise sorting methods using a standard reference dataset of postcranial remains maintained by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis indicates significantly improved performance for the clavicle and radius over all previous methods (p < 0.01). The z‐transform method weighted by the effect size outperformed the t‐test (Byrd and Adams) and the mean t‐test (Lynch) for all elements (p < 0.01). The method performed better than the absolute value t‐test (Lynch) for five elements (p < 0.01) and performed at least as well for the remainder. To facilitate usability all methods are available at: https://github.com/spawaskar-cora/z-transform-method . |
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Keywords: | forensic science pairwise osteometric pair‐matching statistics z‐transform test automation software |
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