Term: Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) Curve

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Glossary Definition

Last Updated: 2007-09-26

Definition:

The ROC curve is used to evaluate the accuracy of any method of predicting a dichotomous outcome (e.g. Logistic Regression); it graphically represents the trade-off between false positive and false negative rates for every possible cut off. The graph plots the false positive rate on the x-axis and the true positive rate (1 - the false negative rate) on the y-axis. The area under the curve is of primary interest as it measures the correlation between the category predicted by the test and the true category into which the case falls.

Related concepts 

• Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI) - Adapting the ICES AMI mortality model to Manitoba data
• Sensitivity and Specificity - Using the ROC Curve to Measure
• Validation of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) in Children

Related terms 

• Logistic Regression
• Sensitivity
• Sensitivity Testing
• Specificity

References 

• Roos LL, Walld RK, Romano PS, Roberecki S. Short-term mortality after repair of hip fracture. Do Manitoba elderly do worse? Med Care 1996;34(4):310-326. [Abstract] (View)