Multivariate Techniques and b-tagging Optimization in Standard Model $WH$ Searches at DO

We search for the standard model Higgs boson produced in association with a $W$ boson using data collected with the D0 detector corresponding to 9.7~fb$^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity of $p\bar{p}$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=1.96$~TeV at the Fermilab Tevatron collider. We select events with a lepton ($e$ or $\mu$), missing $E_{T}$, and two or three reconstructed jets. We split the candidate events based on the number and quality of jets that are tagged as originating from a $b$-quark, and apply multivariate techniques to further separate signal from background. This talk will focus on the optimization of $b$-tagging and the choice of variables used in the multivariate analysis.