| 9.4 | Systematic Error (Bias) |
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- Key Idea 1: Measurements are biased when they are consistently lower or higher than the true value they are measuring...
Discussion For example, a scale that systematically shows a weight more than the actual weight of the object we are weighing is biased.
- Key Idea 2: The precision of a set of measurements is their variability...
- We cannot do it statistically (meaning we cannot tell from the data alone if there is bias).
- One way to assess bias
is to compare the measurement it gives with that given by a
device known to be free of bias. For example, the time tone
given by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation from the Dominion
Observatory in Ottawa provides an accurate reference point for
correct time for the entire country.
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