Statements on the errors of analytical results are an important aspect of characterizing the performance of analytical methods. The general nature of random and systematic errors is briefly discussed, and methods of numerically defining the former are considered. It is suggested that the standard deviation of analytical results be used exclusively as the quantitative measure of precision within the context of performance-characteristics. Techniques for, and precautions to be observed in, estimating standard deviation are critically discussed. On this basis, general principles are proposed that should be observed whenever possible in experimental tests to estimate standard deviation.
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Wright et al. (2009) studied this question.