Given that both natural/artifical selection and genetic drift are evolutionary mechanisms that influence how allele frequencies shift in a population:
Are there ways to determine whether a frequency shift for a specific gene/allele is due to genetic drift or selection? In other words: when we see an allele take over a population, is there a way to know whether it was selected or just 'got lucky'?
UPDATE: since apparently this issue is quite complex in experimental biology I want to clarify why I'm asking this and what I hope to learn.
I'm looking for a 'theoretical way' of determining whether the changes in allele frequencies in subsequent generations are the product of selection or mere drift.
I'm applying a genetic algorithm to the optimisation of websites, where each gene determines an aspect of the user experience of that website. The question is whether the alleles I see emerging in the fittest solutions (= the best user experience, rated by visitors) got there by chance or actually contribute to the fitness of the candidate solution (= make a difference in shaping the user experience).
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