Multiblock variance partitioning: a new approach for comparing variation in multiple data blocks.

More than one multi-informative analytical technique is often applied when describing the condition of a set of samples. Often a part of the information found in these data blocks is redundant and can be extracted from more blocks. This study puts forward a method (multiblock variance partitioning—MVP) to compare the information/variation in different data blocks using simple quantitative measures. These measures are the unique part of the variation only found in one data block and the common part that can be found in more data blocks. These different parts are found using PLS models between predictor blocks and a common response. MVP provides a different view on the information in different blocks than normal multiblock analysis. It will be shown that this has many applications in very diverse fields such as process control, assessor performance in sensory analysis, efficiency of preprocessing methods and as complementary information to an interval PLS analysis. Here the ideas of the MVP approach are presented in detail using a study of red wines from different regions measured with GC–MS and FT-IR instruments providing different kinds of data representations.