A Survey of Design, Analysis, and Reporting of Results in Key Comparisons

• Activity Number: 428
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Thursday, August 12, 2004 : 10:30 AM to 12:20 PM
• Sponsor: Section on Physical and Engineering Sciences
• Author(s): Adriana Hornikova*+ and William F. Guthrie
• Companies: National Institute of Standards and Technology and National Institute of Standards and Technology
• Keywords: interlaboratory studies ; experiment design ; key comparison ; MRA

Abstract

Key comparisons are international interlaboratory studies used to establish the degree of equivalence between national measurement standards. These studies, which are carried out by National Measurement Institutes (NMIs), are time-consuming, but necessary to facilitate international trade. Since the signing of the Mutual Recognition Arrangement in 1999, 27 key comparisons in a wide range of metrological areas have been completed, with results posted in the International Comparisons Database (ICDB). Now, with a rich set of real comparisons for reference, an opportunity to answer some of the questions about the theory and methods for conducting key comparisons has arisen. To take advantage of this opportunity, staff in the Statistical Engineering Division are summarizing the work on currently completed key comparisons and will develop recommendations to make it easier to carry out these comparisons in the future and to learn as much as possible from the results.