A new look at a traditional method of thermal characterization is offered. Oxidative induction temperature method is modified and revised to give a thermal profile of the polymer instead of a single-point measurement. This article is an effort to not only describe a portion of the thermal behavior of polymers, but also to identify some thermal parameters. These parameters; thermal stability, strength, and stiffness, are proposed to be used like tensile properties to differentiate between the behavior of polymers under controlled conditions. The thermal parameters were successfully used to differentiate between two grades of polypropylene (PP), to study reprocessed PP, and to identify an injection molding problem for a client. (C) 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.