A method is provided for determining the anisotropy of alignment of a random array of 1-D conductive elements (e.g., carbon nanotube or silicon nanowire) formed on a substrate. A pattern of a plurality of electrodes are arranged on the substrate containing the 1-D conductive elements and a plurality of electrical property measurements are performed in a plurality of different directions between the plurality of electrodes. The plurality of measurements are combined together to generate a total measurement sum of electrical property measurements between the various electrodes. The measured electrical property is determined between a selected pair of the plurality of electrodes along a selected direction extending between the selected pair of electrodes. The anisotropy of alignment of the 1-D conductive elements on the substrate along the selected direction is determined based on a ratio of the measured electrical property between the selected pair of electrodes versus the total measurement sum.