All students taking laboratory courses within the physical sciences and engineering will benefit from this book, whilst researchers will find it an invaluable reference. This concise, practical guide brings the reader up-to-speed on the proper handling and presentation of scientific data and its inaccuracies. It covers all the vital topics with practical guidelines, computer programs (in Python), and recipes for handling experimental errors and reporting experimental data. In addition to the essentials, it also provides further background material for advanced readers who want to understand how the methods work. Plenty of examples, exercises and solutions are provided to aid and test understanding, whilst useful data, tables and formulas are compiled in a handy section for easy reference.

All students taking laboratory courses within the physical sciences and engineering will benefit from this book, whilst researchers will find it an invaluable reference. This concise, practical guide brings the reader up-to-speed on the proper handling and presentation of scientific data and its inaccuracies. It covers all the vital topics with practical guidelines, computer programs (in Python), and recipes for handling experimental errors and reporting experimental data. In addition to the essentials, it also provides further background material for advanced readers who want to understand how the methods work. Plenty of examples, exercises and solutions are provided to aid and test understanding, whilst useful data, tables and formulas are compiled in a handy section for easy reference.

Problems after each chapter

This hands-on guide is primarily intended to be used in undergraduate laboratories in the physical sciences and engineering. It assumes no prior knowledge of statistics. It introduces the necessary concepts where needed, with key points illustrated with worked examples and graphic illustrations. In contrast to traditional mathematical treatments it uses a combination of spreadsheet and calculus-based approaches, suitable as a quick and easy on-the-spot reference. The emphasis throughout is on practical strategies to be adopted in the laboratory. Error analysis is introduced at a level accessible to school leavers, and carried through to research level. Error calculation and propagation is presented though a series of rules-of-thumb, look-up tables and approaches amenable to computer analysis. The general approach uses the chi-square statistic extensively. Particular attention is given to hypothesis testing and extraction of parameters and their uncertainties by fitting mathematical models to experimental data. Routines implemented by most contemporary data analysis packages are analysed and explained. The book finishes with a discussion of advanced fitting strategies and an introduction to Bayesian analysis.

It is usually straightforward to calculate the result of a practical experiment in the laboratory. Estimating the accuracy of that result is often regarded by students as an obscure and tedious routine, involving much arithmetic. An estimate of the error is, however, an integral part of the presentation of the results of experiments. This textbook is intended for undergraduates who are carrying out laboratory experiments in the physical sciences for the first time. It is a practical guide on how to analyse data and estimate errors. The necessary formulas for performing calculations are given, and the ideas behind them are explained, although this is not a formal text on statistics. Specific examples are worked through step by step in the text. Emphasis is placed on the need to think about whether a calculated error is sensible. At first students should take this book with them to the laboratory, and the format is intended to make this convenient. The book will provide the necessary understanding of what is involved, should inspire confidence in the method of estimating errors, and enable numerical calculations without too much effort. The author's aim is to make practical classes more enjoyable. Students who use this book will be able to complete their calculations quickly and confidently, leaving time to appreciate the basic physical ideas involved in the experiments.

This short guide to modern error analysis is primarily intended to be used in undergraduate laboratories in the physical sciences. No prior knowledge of statistics is assumed. The necessary concepts are introduced where needed and illustrated graphically. The book emphasises the use of computers for error calculations and data fitting.

Inspired by the author's need for practical guidance in the processes of data analysis, A Practical Guide to Scientific Data Analysis has been written as a statistical companion for the working scientist. This handbook of data analysis with worked examples focuses on the application of mathematical and statistical techniques and the interpretation of their results. Covering the most common statistical methods for examining and exploring relationships in data, the text includes extensive examples from a variety of scientific disciplines. The chapters are organised logically, from planning an experiment, through examining and displaying the data, to constructing quantitative models. Each chapter is intended to stand alone so that casual users can refer to the section that is most appropriate to their problem. Written by a highly qualified and internationally respected author this text: Presents statistics for the non-statistician Explains a variety of methods to extract information from data Describes the application of statistical methods to the design of “performance chemicals” Emphasises the application of statistical techniques and the interpretation of their results Of practical use to chemists, biochemists, pharmacists, biologists and researchers from many other scientific disciplines in both industry and academia.