Method for carrying out an evaluation method by way of an automated determination of a threshold parameter of the evaluation method by means of a computer, wherein the evaluation method is carried out for evaluating a message archive with a set of messages which are generated during a control and/or monitoring of an industrial plant, in particular a manufacturing or processing plant, wherein the messages each have a message identification, and wherein at least two message identifications of the messages differ from one another, wherein a message identification comprises an allocation to a particular machine, a sensor or an actuator, the determination method comprising: a) creating a comparison archive and storing reference messages in the comparison archive, a set of the reference messages stored in the comparison archive substantially corresponding to the set of messages which are stored in the message archive, and wherein the reference messages each have a message identification, and wherein at least two message identifications of the reference messages differ from one another, and wherein the comparison archive has statistical properties comparable with the message archive of the industrial plant, in particular a quantitatively identical temporal extent and/or an identical value range of the message identifications and/or an identical number of different message identifications and/or identical message identifications and/or an identical variance of message identifications; b) determining an absolute occurrence frequency of individual message identifications within the set of reference messages stored in the comparison archive; c) determining a transition probability of reference messages with a first message identification to reference messages with a second message identification in all reference messages stored in the comparison archive by means of the respective absolute occurrence frequency; d) determining a first threshold parameter for a minimum transition probability between a reference message with a first message identification and a reference message with a second message identification such that a relative number of pairs of reference messages, the transition probability of which after the determination of the first threshold parameter lies above the first threshold parameter to be determined, in relation to all the pairs of reference messages stored in the comparison archive with message identifications that differ from one another is quantitatively smaller than a previously determined threshold value, preferably smaller than 10%, preferably smaller than 5%, particularly preferably smaller than 1%; e) providing the determined threshold parameter and carrying out the evaluation method for evaluating the message archive. a) creating a comparison archive and storing reference messages in the comparison archive, a set of the reference messages stored in the comparison archive substantially corresponding to the set of messages which are stored in the message archive, and wherein the reference messages each have a message identification, and wherein at least two message identifications of the reference messages differ from one another, and wherein the comparison archive has statistical properties comparable with the message archive of the industrial plant, in particular a quantitatively identical temporal extent and/or an identical value range of the message identifications and/or an identical number of different message identifications and/or identical message identifications and/or an identical variance of message identifications; and wherein the reference messages each have a message identification, and wherein at least two message identifications of the reference messages differ from one another, and wherein the comparison archive has statistical properties comparable with the message archive of the industrial plant, in particular a quantitatively identical temporal extent and/or an identical value range of the message identifications and/or an identical number of different message identifications and/or identical message identifications and/or an identical variance of message identifications; b) determining an absolute occurrence frequency of individual message identifications within the set of reference messages stored in the comparison archive; c) determining a transition probability of reference messages with a first message identification to reference messages with a second message identification in all reference messages stored in the comparison archive by means of the respective absolute occurrence frequency; d) determining a first threshold parameter for a minimum transition probability between a reference message with a first message identification and a reference message with a second message identification such that a relative number of pairs of reference messages, the transition probability of which after the determination of the first threshold parameter lies above the first threshold parameter to be determined, in relation to all the pairs of reference messages stored in the comparison archive with message identifications that differ from one another is quantitatively smaller than a previously determined threshold value, preferably smaller than 10%, preferably smaller than 5%, particularly preferably smaller than 1%; e) providing the determined threshold parameter and carrying out the evaluation method for evaluating the message archive.