method and apparatus for correlating data records acquired in a signal acquisition device includes the steps of extracting an area of interest from the data record displayed on said signal acquisition device , normalizing the area of interest , creating a filter based upon normalized values of the area of interest and passing the data record through said filter to obtain a correlation curve . normalization of the area of interest includes obtaining a plurality of points defining the area of interest , calculating the mean of the said plurality of points and subtracting said mean from each of the said plurality of points . creating the filter includes using the normalized values of the area of interest as coefficients for the filter .