Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Do we need to consider metrological meanings of different measurement uncertainty estimations?

  • Discussion Forum
  • Published:
Accreditation and Quality Assurance Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Along the years, several approaches for measurement uncertainty estimation have been suggested. Emphasis has been put on the general metrological interpretation of measurement uncertainty, but not on its different meanings when it is associated to given conditions of measurement where analytical work is performed and errors are originated. Three different definitions for uncertainty are proposed for reproducibility and intermediate precision conditions of measurement. These definitions inherit features from the VIM 3 definition of measurement uncertainty. It is argued that if a high performance laboratory keeps errors under control with proper validation and quality assurance programs, measurement uncertainty from intermediate precision condition of measurement is justified as a suitable estimation of its capability to attribute values to a measurand. Alternatively, a laboratory that does not keep errors under control should use uncertainty from reproducibility condition of measurement as the cost of its imperfections. Selection of information sources for measurement uncertainty estimation should be in harmony with its metrological meaning.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. ISO/IEC Guide 98-3 (2008) Uncertainty of measurement—part 3: guide to the expression of uncertainty in measurement (GUM:1995). ISO, Geneva, Switzerland

  2. Eurachem, CITAC (2000) Quantifying uncertainty in analytical measurement, 2nd edn. Laboratory of the Government Chemist (LGC), London, UK

  3. Analytical Methods Committee (1995) Analyst 120:2303–2308

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Maroto A, Riu J, Boqué R, Rius FX (1999) Anal Chim Acta 391:173–185

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Jülicher B, Gowik P, Uhlig S (1999) Analyst 124:537

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Nordtest (2004) Handbook for the calculation of measurement uncertainty in environmental laboratories, 2nd edn. Available at http://www.nordtest.org. Accessed July 2009

  7. ISO (2004) Guidance for the use of repeatability, reproducibility and trueness estimates in measurement uncertainty estimation, ISO/TS 21748:2004. ISO, Geneva, Switzerland

  8. Eurolab (2007) Measurement uncertainty revisited: Alternative approaches to uncertainty evaluation. Technical report no. 1/2007, Germany. Available at http://www.eurolab.org. Accessed July 2009

  9. Eurolab (2006) Guide to the evaluation of measurement uncertainty for quantitative test results. Technical report no. 1/2006, Germany. Available at http://www.eurolab.org. Accessed July 2009

  10. da Silva RJNB, Santos JR, Camões MEGEC (2006) Accred Qual Assur 10:664–671

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. ISO 13528:2005 (2005) Statistical methods for use in proficiency testing by interlaboratory comparisons. ISO, Geneva, Switzerland

  12. Norden (2002) Uncertainty—to a certain level. Available at http://www.nordicinnovation.net. Accessed July 2009

  13. De Bièvre P (2008) Accred Qual Assur 13:61–62

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Analytical Methods Committee (2003) AMC technical brief no. 15. Available at http://www.rsc.org/lap/rsccom/amc/amc_index.ht. Accessed July 2009

  15. ISO/IEC Guide 99:2007 (2007) International vocabulary of metrology—basic and general concepts and associated terms (VIM), ISO, Geneva, Switzerland. Available at http://www.bipm.org/en/publications/guides/vim. Accessed July 2009

  16. Thompson M (2000) Analyst 125:2020–2025

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Hund E, Massart DL, Smeyers-Verbeke J (2001) Trends Anal Chem 20:394–406

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Ostle B (1981) Estadística aplicada. Editorial Científico-Técnica, Ciudad de La Habana

    Google Scholar 

  19. ISO 21749:2005 (2005) Measurement uncertainty for metrological applications—repeated measurement and nested experiments, ISO, Geneva, Switzerland

  20. ISO 5725:1994 (1994) Accuracy (trueness and precision) of measurements and results—parts 2, 3, and 4. ISO, Geneva, Switzerland

  21. NF XP T 90-220:2003 (2003) Qualité de l’eau—Protocole d’estimation de l’incertitude de mesure associée à un résultat d’analyse pour les méthodes d’analyse physico-chimiques

  22. Bich W (2009) Accred Qual Assur. doi: 10.1007/s00769-009-0500-4

  23. Maroto A, Boqué R, Riu J, Rius FX (2001) Anal Chim Acta 446:133–145

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Emons H (2006) Accred Qual Assur 10:690–691

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Thompson M, Ellison SLR, Wood R (2006) IUPAC Pure Appl Chem 78:145–196

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Belli M, Ellison SLR, Fajgelj A, Kuselman I, Sansone U, Wegscheider W (2007) Accred Qual Assur 12:391–398

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. ISO Guide 35:2006 (2006) Reference materials—general and statistical principles for certification. ISO, Geneva, Switzerland

  28. Bich W (2006) Accred Qual Assur 11:638–639

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Science and Technology of Materials, University of Havana, Zapata y G, s/n, Plaza, Havana, Cuba

    Manuel Alvarez-Prieto, Juan Jiménez-Chacón & Álvaro Montero-Curbelo

Authors
  1. Manuel Alvarez-Prieto
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Juan Jiménez-Chacón
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Álvaro Montero-Curbelo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Manuel Alvarez-Prieto.

Additional information

Papers published in this section do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Editors, the Editorial Board and the Publisher.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOC 237 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Alvarez-Prieto, M., Jiménez-Chacón, J. & Montero-Curbelo, Á. Do we need to consider metrological meanings of different measurement uncertainty estimations?. Accred Qual Assur 14, 623–634 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00769-009-0570-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00769-009-0570-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation