Bika PT Glossary of Terminology

Area of technical competence. Sub-discipline

An area of technical competence defined by a minimum of one Measurement Technique, Property and Product, which are related,  e.g. Determination of Arsenic in soil by ICP-MS.

Assigned Value

Value attributed to a particular property of a proficiency test item.

Coordinator

One or more individuals with responsibility for organizing and managing all of the activities involved in the operation of a proficiency testing scheme.

EPT · External Proficiency Testing

The term EPT, instead of PT, is sometimes used in contexts where it is needed to differentiate between internal laboratory quality control and 'external' PT measures.

Frequency of participation

This is how often a laboratory determines that it needs to participate in PT for a given sub-discipline, this may vary from sub-discipline to sub-discipline within a laboratory and between laboratories with the same sub-disciplines.

ILC · Interlaboratory Comparison

Organization, performance and evaluation of measurements or tests on the same or similar items by two or more laboratories in accordance with predetermined conditions.

Level of participation

The number of sub-disciplines that an organisation identifies within its scope, and therefore the number of specific proficiency tests that should be considered for participation.

Measurement

The process of experimentally obtaining one or more quantity values that can reasonably be attributed to a quantity. Measurement presupposes a description of the quantity commensurate with the intended use of a measurement result, a measurement procedure, and a calibrated measuring system operating according to the specified measurement procedure, including the measurement conditions.

Measurement does not apply to nominal properties, and implies comparison of quantities and includes counting of entities.

Measurement technique · Method

The process of testing/calibrating/identifying the property, including any pre-treatment required to present the sample, as received by the laboratory, to the measuring device, e.g. ICP-MS, Hardness, PCR, Microscopy, Force Measurement, etc.

Measurand

A physical quantity, property, or condition which is measured.

Outlier

Observation in a set of data that appears to be inconsistent with the remainder of that set.

Participant

Laboratory, organization or individual that receives proficiency test items and submits results for review by the proficiency testing provider.

PT · Proficiency Testing

Evaluation of participant performance against pre-established criteria by means of inter-laboratory comparisons.

Product · Sample Type

The item that the measurement technique is being applied to, e.g. Soil, Vegetables, Serum, Polystyrene, Concrete

Property · Analyte

The quantity being measured, e.g. Arsenic, Creatinine, Length, Hardness, Force

Proficiency Test Item

Sample, product, artefact, reference material, piece of equipment, measurement standard, data set or other information used for proficiency testing.

Proficiency Testing Provider

Organization which takes responsibility for all tasks in the development and operation of a proficiency testing scheme.

Proficiency Testing Round

Single complete sequence of distribution of proficiency test items, and the evaluation and reporting of results to the participants.

PTS · Proficiency Testing Scheme

Proficiency testing designed and operated in one or more rounds for a specified area of testing, measurement, calibration or inspection.

Robust Statistical Method

Statistical method insensitive to small departures from underlying assumptions surrounding an underlying probabilistic model.

SD · Standard Deviation for Proficiency Assessment

Measure of dispersion used in the evaluation of results of proficiency testing, based on the available information.

Uncertainty

A non-negative parameter characterizing the dispersion of the quantity values being attributed to a measurand, based on the information used.