Variability
Definition
Differences among biological observations or outcomes under stated conditions, distinct from systematic bias. Individuals and outcomes can differ even under similar conditions. A development study should describe relevant variation and its experimental basis.
- Context
- Biological observations
For example, insects developing under the same controlled treatment can reach an endpoint at different times without that spread identifying a systematic measurement bias.
Variability is not the same as systematic bias or an unrecorded case history. A standard deviation from one experiment does not automatically quantify every source of case uncertainty.
Related terms
- Accumulated Degree Hours (ADH)
- Accumulated temperature-time above a defined developmental threshold, expressed in degree-hours under a specified model. In a fictional linear model with a base...
- Association Uncertainty
- Uncertainty about how a specimen relates to the material or event under investigation. The observed location of a specimen is one part...
- Bias
- Bias is a systematic tendency for an estimate or measurement to depart from its target under specified conditions. It differs from random...
- Colonisation Interval
- A defined interval associated with colonisation; its origin and later reference event must be stated. The interval is measured from a defined...
- Entomotoxicology
- Analysis of substances in insect matrices and possible developmental effects, without automatic reconstruction of human blood concentrations. Validated tests can detect particular...
- Maggot-Mass Thermogenesis
- Heat production within larval aggregations, with magnitude and historical duration requiring assessment. Record larval aggregation size, location, observations and temperatures with times...
- Minimum PMI (PMImin)
- A conditional lower bound on elapsed time after death; on a calendar it supports a latest possible earlier event under stated assumptions....
- Sensitivity Analysis
- Assessment of output changes under justified changes in model inputs or assumptions. Sensitivity analysis examines how a result changes when specified inputs...
- Thermal Bias
- Systematic distortion from an inappropriate temperature input or model; its direction depends on conditions. Within a suitable increasing-rate model, a lower assumed...
- Uncertainty Interval
- A reported interval whose interpretation depends on its stated construction and target. An interval must identify its target and how its endpoints...
Explained in
- Sources of Error and Uncertainty in Entomological PMIDifferences among biological observations or outcomes.