No apologies: I have not attempted to research this (beyond reviewing the list of questions CV provided that may have answered this query). I taught this in class last week for diagnosing logistic multiple regression models, and I warned the students in advance that I did not know the origins of the name.
What is the history of the name of the ROC curve: Receiver Operating Characteristic?
I recall something about it being mentioned in an avocational book (like The Lady Tasting Tea or one of Mario Livio's books)…but if anyone has some history to share, that would be welcome.
Best Answer
The earliest book reference that I know of is
but the concept, which was developed during World War II for the analysis of radar receivers, might have been published earlier than 1953 in journal articles (after the War was over) or in the multivolume series of texts published by the MIT Radiation Laboratory about their research during World War II.