1. Personal Errors๏ƒ

Personal errors are one-off mistakes made by the operator.

Key features

  • Produce isolated outliers

  • Not representative of measurement uncertainty

  • Excluded from uncertainty calculations

Common personal errors

Source

Error Type

Explanation

Fix / Reduce byโ€ฆ

Observational / Procedural

Operator / technique error

Procedure not followed correctly or equipment misused

Discard the invalid result; repeat using the correct technique.

Observational / Procedural

Recording error

Data written down or interpreted incorrectly

Re-read or recheck the data record; correct or repeat the measurement if the original value cannot be recovered.

Observational / Procedural

One-off misreading

Scale read incorrectly due to inattention

Discard the invalid result; re-read the instrument carefully and record the correct value.

Fill in the Gaps โ€” Personal Errors

Complete the following by filling in the missing words.

Word list (A โ†’ Z): corrected โ€ข discarded โ€ข rechecked โ€ข reread

  1. Invalid results should be ______________ if a mistake has occurred.

  2. Data records should be ______________ to identify any recording errors.

  3. If an error is found, the value should be ______________.

  4. Instruments should be ______________ carefully to avoid one-off misreadings.

Reveal Answer Key

  1. discarded

  2. rechecked

  3. corrected

  4. reread