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Method

Abstract · Method · Results

Procedure

  1. Keep the instrument and reference sample in place.
  2. Take three readings under the same conditions.
  3. Record every reading before calculating a summary.

Summary statistics

Report the arithmetic mean and sample standard deviation:

xˉ=1n∑i=1nxi,s=∑i=1n(xi−xˉ)2n−1.\bar{x} = \frac{1}{n}\sum_{i=1}^{n}x_i, \qquad s = \sqrt{\frac{\sum_{i=1}^{n}(x_i-\bar{x})^2}{n-1}}.

The standard deviation describes the spread of readings; it does not account for systematic error.