1. A method of qualifying a pattern, patterning process, or a patterning apparatus, comprising: providing a substrate having a surface covered by a pattern recording material; causing multiple occurrences of irradiation of a reticle or a mask containing a design pattern, each of the occurrences of irradiation representing a value of a member of a set of lithographic operating variables, and the reticle or mask imparting to the occurrences of irradiation design pattern information corresponding to each of the values of the member of the set; causing on the pattern recording material occurrences of irradiation carrying the design pattern information imparted by the reticle or mask; recording in the pattern recording material a spatial pattern corresponding to the design pattern information imparted by the reticle or mask for each of the values of the member of the set, each spatial pattern recorded at a different region of the pattern recording material; and determining from the recorded spatial patterns a presence of a pattern anomaly associated with the pattern, patterning process, or patterning apparatus.