Know Thy System #2
15. Know Thy System #2ΒΆ
As you may recall, we introduced the concepts of Standards and Calibration in section A.3
Now, once we have finished designing our system and finally performed the experiment we had in mind, it is time to start analyzing the data and prepare the report.
When reporting the experimental results, it is helpful to keep in mind the following generic structure:
Introduction
What are the objectives of the measurements we are presenting
What do we already know about the measured property/phenomena
System description
A general descrition of the system and its working principle
A schematic description is often required
Depending on the audience, different levels of detais should be supplied
Calibration and uncertainties
Who calibrated the system (how?)
Uncertainties of the various elements
Resolution, accuracy, time response should be addressed
In many cases some validation data is required
Results (as is)
Analysis of the results
How accurate are the results
Does the results of the experiment fit with the theory or the assumed/expected behavior?
Can we assign a mathematica model to our observations?
How does the measured data relates to available data (either from the literature or internal databases)
Summary
In the following sections we will discuss what to do with our results and how to analyze them.
Important
From this point on we will be using concepts taken from the fields of probability and statistics.
We will briefly refresh your memory regarding the basic concepts but I assume that you remeber the contents of 094481.
If you dont, please use your lecture notes to refresh your memory.