  With the design and development of next-generation high-energy neutrino
detectors, it is important to compare different detector designs to optimize
detection probability and science reach. These comparisons are nevertheless
difficult due to large uncertainties in current neutrino source model
parameters. We examine the role of the most important characteristics of
high-energy neutrino searches in the probability of discovering different
sources types. We derive scaling relations for each considered source and
search scenario, which can be used to compare different detector designs with
respect to their utility in discovering different source populations. The
recovered scaling relations are independent of source strengths, providing a
model-independent comparison.
