What factors of the integer dataset being sorted can I change, in order to compare two sorting algorithms? I am comparing two comparison and binary data structure based sorting algorithms, the Tree Sort, and the Heap Sort. I am measuring the time taken for both algorithms to sort an increasing size of an integer dataset. However, I am wondering if there are any other variables which I can modify, for example standard deviation, in the integer dataset itself that would be of any benefit to my comparison.
The simplest is not doing a proper shuffle, that is having partially (reverse) sorted sequences, in extremis this can be the entire range is sorted except a few elements at the end that need to be inserted somewhere in the range.
For comparison sorts the distribution of elements doesn't make a difference, only how many duplicate values there are. This is something you can adjust as well.