Protocol for the design, conduct and interpretation of collaborative studies

Abstract

The minimum requirements accepted by consensus of 27 participants at an IUPAC Workshop for the design, conduct, and interpretation of collaborative interlaboratory studies are given. This document deals with a collaborative study (as distinct from a proficiency study or a certification study). The document emphasizes the need for a preliminary optimization of the candidate method within at least a single laboratory to avoid wasting the power and expense of a collaborative study on a relatively untested method. The recommended protocol developed for a collaborative study of the optimized method indicates the required numbers of materials, laboratories, and replicate analyses arranged according to specific designs. The protocol also specifies the method for removal of outliers, designates the statistical parameters to be calculated from the valid data, and suggests a format for reporting the results of the statistical analysis. © 1988 IUPAC.