Proficiency test data interpretation and data rejection

Simon Jerome; Arvic Harms

doi:10.1016/j.apradiso.2023.110678

Proficiency test data interpretation and data rejection

Appl Radiat Isot. 2023 Apr:194:110678. doi: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2023.110678. Epub 2023 Jan 16.

Authors

Simon Jerome¹, Arvic Harms²

Affiliations

¹ CERAD, Norges Miljø- og Biovitenskapelige Universitet (NMBU), 1433, Ås, Norway. Electronic address: simon.mark.jerome@nmbu.no.
² Lund, Sweden.

PMID: 36736123
DOI: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2023.110678

Abstract

An extension to the interpretation, evaluation and visualisation of radioactivity proficiency test exercises (PTEs) are presented in this paper. In addition to the use of the ζ- and z-tests, a test for acceptance of relative uncertainties is introduced, the R-test, along with an overall performance score and additional data visualisation using modified Naji- and Pom-plots. Additionally, 'improbable deviations' are identified using a simple test. Other outliers may be identified in the remaining data using Peirce's Criterion.

Keywords: Data analysis; Data interpretation; Proficiency testing; Radioactivity measurement.