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Accuracy and Precision

Definition

Accuracy is closeness to the true value, measured as recovery from a spiked CRM with the 80 to 120 percent window. Precision is the spread of replicates as RSD: intra-day typically 1 to 5 percent for a well-tuned LC-MS/MS, inter-day 2 to 10 percent.

Related terms

Control Chart
Time-series plot of a QC measurement with warning limits at ±2σ and action limits at ±3σ from validation data. Patterns such as...
LOD and LOQ
Limit of detection is three times the SD of blank or S/N of 3:1. Limit of quantitation is ten times SD of...
Measurement Uncertainty (MU)
A quantified parameter associated with a result that characterises the dispersion of values reasonably attributable to the measurand. Estimated by the GUM...
Method Validation
The process of demonstrating that an analytical method does what it claims: that it correctly identifies the target analyte, at what sensitivity,...
Proficiency Testing (PT)
A quality assurance mechanism in which laboratories analyse blind samples distributed by an external scheme coordinator and have their results compared against...

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