MEE104 Measurement and Evaluation Techniques

Errors in measurement
Errors will creep into all experiments regardless of the care exerted. Some of these errors are of a random nature,
and some will be due to gross blunders on the part of the experimenter. Bad data due to obvious blunders may
be discarded immediately. But what of the data points that just “look” bad? We cannot throw out data because
they do not conform with our hopes and expectations unless we see something obviously wrong. But, they may
be discarded on the basis of some consistent statistical data analysis

1. Errors
Error is the difference between the measured value and the ‘true value’ of the thing being measured. The word
'error' does not imply that any mistakes have been made. There are two general categories of error: systematic
(or bias) errors and random (or precision) errors.

 Systematic errors (also called bias errors) are consistent, repeatable errors. Systematic errors can be
revealed when the conditions are varied, whether deliberately or unintentionally. For example,
suppose the first two millimeters of a ruler are broken off, and the user is not aware of it. Everything
measured will be short by two millimeters under the effect of this systematic error. The measured
values with systematic errors can be related to true values via some algebraic equation
 Random errors (also called precision errors) are caused by a lack of repeatability in the output of the
measuring system. Random errors may arise from uncontrolled test conditions in the measurement system,
measurement methods, environmental conditions, data reduction techniques. The most common sign of
random errors is scatter in the measured data. For example, background electrical noise often results
in small random errors in the measured output.

A. Systematic (or Bias) Errors

The systematic error is defined as the average of measured values minus the true value.

Systematic errors arise for many reasons:

 Calibration errors – perhaps due to nonlinearity or errors in the calibration method.
 Loading or intrusion errors – the sensor may actually change the very thing it is trying to measure.
 Spatial errors – these arise when a quantity varies in space, but a measurement is taken only at one
location (e.g. temperature in a room - usually the top of a room is warmer than the bottom).
 Human errors – these can arise if a person consistently reads a scale on the low side, for example.
 Defective equipment errors – these arise if the instrument consistently reads too high or too low due to
some internal problem or damage (such as our defective ruler example above).
It is reported the following four methodologies to reduce systematic errors [1]:
 Calibration, by checking the output(s) for known input(s).
 Concomitant method, by using different methods of estimating the same thing and comparing the results.
 Inter-laboratory comparison, by comparing the results of similar measurements.
 Experience.

B.Random (or Precision) Errors

Random errors are unrepeatable, inconsistent errors in the measurements, resulting in scatter in the data. The
random error of one data point is defined as the reading minus the average of readings.
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Thus, precision error is identical to random error.

Example:
Given: Five temperature readings are taken of some snow: -1.30, -1.50, -1.20, -1.60, and -1.50oC.
To do: Find the maximum magnitude of random error in oC.

C. Accuracy revisited
Accuracy is the closeness of agreement between a measured value and the true value. Accuracy error is formally
defined as the measured value minus the true value.
The accuracy error of a reading (which may also be called inaccuracy or uncertainty) represents a combination of
bias and precision errors.
The overall accuracy error (or the overall inaccuracy) of a set of readings is defined as the average of all readings
minus the true value. Thus, overall accuracy error is identical to systematic or bias error.

Example:
Given: Consider the same five temperature readings as in the previous example, i.e., -1.30, -1.50, -1.20, -1.60, and -
1.50oC. Also suppose that the true temperature of the snow was -1.45oC.
To do: Calculate the accuracy error of the third data point in oC. What is the overall accuracy error?

Precision characterizes the random error of the instrument’s output. Precision error (of one reading) is defined as
the reading minus the average of readings.

D. Other Sources for Errors

There are many other errors, which all have technical names, as defined here:
 Linearity error: The output deviates from the calibrated linear relationship between the input and the
output (see further discussion in the next section on calibration). Linearity error is a type of bias error, but
unlike zero error, the degree of error varies with the magnitude of the reading.
 Sensitivity error: The slope of the output vs. input curve is not calibrated exactly in the first place. Since
this affects all readings by the instrument, this is a type of systematic or bias error.
 Resolution error: The output precision is limited to discrete steps (e.g., if one reads to the nearest
millimeter on a ruler, the resolution error is around +/- 1 mm). Resolution error is a type of random or
precision error.
 Hysteresis error: The output is different, depending on whether the input is increasing or decreasing at the
time of measurement. This is a separate error from instrument repeatability error.
 For example, a motor-driven traverse may fall short of its reading due to friction, and the effect would be of
opposite sign when the traverse arrives at the same point from the opposite direction; thus, hysteresis error is a
systematic error, not a random error.
 Instrument repeatability error: The instrument gives a different output, when the input returns to the
same value, and the procedure to get to that value is the same. The reasons for the differences are usually
random, so instrument repeatability error is a type of random error.
 Drift error: The output changes (drifts) from its correct value, even though the input remains constant.
Drift error can often be seen in the zero reading, which may fluctuate randomly due to electrical noise and
other random causes, or it can drift higher or lower (zero drift) due to on random causes, such as a slow
increase in air temperature in the room. Thus, drift error can be either random or systematic.
MEE104 Measurement and Evaluation Techniques

2. Statistical Representation of Experimental Data

Statisticsistheareaofsciencethatdealswithcollection,organization,analysis,and interpretation of data. Suppose a
large box containing a population of thousands of similar-valued resistors. To get an idea of the value of the
resistors, we might measure a certain number of samples from thousands. The result of measured resistor values
form a data set, which can be used to imply something about the entire population of the bearings in the box,
such as average value and variations.
The probability and statistics allows us to convert (or reduce) raw data (in)to results which provides information
for a large class of engineering judgments.

A. Basic Definitions for Data Analysis using Statistics

Basic terms that define the groups that are subject of statistical analysis are as follows:
 Population: defined collection about which we want to draw a conclusion
 Sample: subject of random subset of population
 Element: an individual in sample set
 Parameter: numerical quantity measuring some aspect of a population
 Data: All measured values
 Statistic: quantity calculated from data collected

A population consists of series of measurements (or readings) of some variable x is available. Variable x can be
anything that is measurable, such as a length, time, voltage, current, resistance, etc.
Asampling of the variable x under controlled, fixed operating conditions renders a finite number of data points.
As a result, a sample of these measurements consists of some portion of the population that is to be analyzed
statistically. The measurements are x1, x2, x3, ..., xn, where n is the number of measurements in the sample under
consideration.

Data is the collection of the observations or measurements on a variable and refers to quantitative or qualitative
attributes of a variable or set of variables.(Eg. the scores of students).
 A data set result of observations usually looks non informative and called as raw data (is also called as
ungrouped data).
 Most of the time, it is often useful to distribute the data into groups when summarizing large quantities of
raw data (groupped data)

B.Statistics Definitions Associated with Random Error

Statistics are numerical values used to summarize and compare sets of of data. Two important
types of statistics are measures of central tendency and measures of dispersion.
 A measure of central tendency is a number used to represent the center or middle of a set of data values.
The mean, median, and mode are three commonly used measures of central tendency.
 Measures of Dispersion A measure of dispersion is a statistic that tells you how dispersed, or spread out,
data values are

Measures Of Central Tendency

Mean: the sample mean is simply the arithmetic average, as is commonly calculated
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n
 xi
i 1
x avg  x 
n
where i is one of the n measurements of the sample.
• The MEAN of a set of values or measurements is the sum of all the measurements divided by the number
of measurements in the set. The mean is the most popular and widely used. It is sometimes called the
arithmetic mean.
• If we get the mean of the sample, we call it the sample mean and it is denoted by (read “x bar”).
• If we compute the mean of the population, we call it the parametric or population mean, denoted by μ
(read “mu”).
Weighted mean is the mean of a set of values where in each value or measurement has a different weight or
degree of importance. The following is its formula:

∑ 𝑥𝑤
𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 =
∑𝑤
Where x is measurement or value and w number of measurements of that value. The weighted mean can be
used to calculate mean of grouped data.

Trimmed Mean: If there are extreme values (also called outlier) in a sample, then the mean is influenced greatly
by those values. To offset the effect caused by those extreme values, we can use the concept of trimmed mean.
 Trimmed mean is defined as the mean obtained after chopping off values at the high and low extremes.