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ErrorAnalysisBiologyforLife

BIOLOGY FOR LIFE (/)

Error Analysis

All scienti c investigations have errors to some degree. An error is the difference
between a measurement and the true value being measured. Please note, errors are
not mistakesdue to experimenter carelessness,sloppiness or being rushed.
An appreciation of error should be apparent at all stages of an investigation.
In the planning stages,the limitations of the time and the materials should be
assessed, and the potential sources of error should be controlled.
In the data collection and processing stages, the degree of accuracy of a
measuring device should be stated.
In the evaluation of the investigation, the sources of error should be discussed,
along with the possible ways of avoiding them.
In general, errors can be classi ed as:
Systematic Errors: faults or aws in the investigation design or procedure that shift
all measurements in a systematic way so that in the course of repeated
measurements the measurement value is constantly displaced in the same way.
Systematic errors can be eliminated with careful experimental design and techniques.
Error in measurement instrument use and calibration: for example, if an
electronic scale reads 0.05 g too high for all mass measurements because it
was improperly tared.

Faulty measurement equipment: for example, if a tape measure has been

stretched out so everything you measured with it is larger than reality.

Faulty use of measurement equipment: for example, if a researcher

consistently reads a graduated cylinder from above (as opposed to directly
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looking at the meniscus).

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Uncertainty of a measurement tool: allmeasurementshaveuncertaintiesand

are only as accurate as the tool being used to make the
measurement.Forgeneral purposes, theaccuracy of ameasurementdevice
isone half ofthe smallest measurementpossible with thedevice.

Random Errors: errors caused by unknown and unpredictable changes in a

measurement,either due to measuring instruments or environmental conditions. You
can't eliminate random errors. You can reduce the effect of random errors by taking
multiple measurements and increasing sample sizes.
Variation in measurement readings: for example, if one person reads 27.5
degrees and another person reads 27.8 degrees when taking the temperature
of the same solution. This error can be minimized by taking more data and
averaging over a large number of observations.

Sample size: a small sample size is going to increase the uncertainty of the
conclusions being drawn.

Background noise: noise is extraneous disturbances that are unpredictable or

random and cannot be completely accounted for. For example, when taking
an ECG measurement, the presence of a cell phone near the monitoring device
might effect the measurements.

Intrinsic variability: biological material is notablyvariable from subject to

subject or within the same subject over the course of time. For example, the
solute concentration of potato tissue may becalculated by soaking pieces of
tissue in a range of concentrations of sucrosesolutions. However, different
pieces of tissue will vary in their waterpotential especially if they have been
taken from different potatoes.

Sensitivity limits: an instrument may not be able to respond or indicate a

change in a quantity that is too small or the observer may not notice the
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change. For example, the resolution limitations of a microscope may limit an

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observer from noticing changes in a cell structure.

The act of measuring: when a measurement istaken this can affect the
environment of the experiment. For example whena cold thermometer is put
in a test tube of warm water, the water will be cooledby the presence of the
thermometer. Or, an animal being observed changes it's behavior because of
the presence of the researcher in its habitat.

Experimenter fatigue: when people have to make a large number of tedious

measurements, their concentration spans vary. Automated measuring, for
example through the use of a data logger system, can help reduce the
likelihood of this type of error. Alternatively, the experimenter can take a break
occasionally.
Once you have identi ed the sources of error, you must explain how they affected your
results. Did they make your experimental values increase or decrease. Why?
For additional information, see this link
(http://www.compbio.dundee.ac.uk/user/mgierlinski/talks/errors2.pdf).

""When we try to pick out anything by itself, we nd it hitched to everything else in the Universe." - John

Muir,1911

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