Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

The accuracy of guestimates.

Iain McLean1, C Mary Anderson, Cath White

  • 1Academic Unit of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Manchester, UK.

Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine
|October 2, 2003
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

An analysis of non-fatal strangulation in adult males reporting rape or sexual assault between 2017 and 2024.

Journal of forensic and legal medicine·2025
Same author

Analysis of case files of children reporting non-fatal strangulation as part of a sexual assault.

Child abuse & neglect·2025
Same author

The diagnostic pathway of Parkinson's disease: understanding patient perspectives in Australia.

NPJ Parkinson's disease·2025
Same author

Prediction model for pre-existing mental health difficulties in cases of child sexual assault reporting to Saint Mary's Sexual Assault Referral Centre.

Journal of forensic and legal medicine·2025
Same author

Identifying the prevalence of genito-anal injuries amongst clients attending St Mary's Sexual Assault Referral Centre following an allegation of anal penetration.

Journal of forensic and legal medicine·2022
Same author

Female genital injuries resulting from consensual and non-consensual vaginal intercourse.

Forensic science international·2010

Clinicians often guess lesion sizes when measurement is hard. This study found that guessing sizes led to overestimations, suggesting avoiding this practice unless necessary.

Area of Science:

  • Forensic Medicine
  • Medical Measurement
  • Clinical Assessment

Background:

  • Accurate lesion size description is crucial in clinical practice.
  • Difficulties in measurement may lead clinicians to estimate sizes ('guestimate').
  • The accuracy of such estimations is not well-documented.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the accuracy of clinicians and non-clinicians in estimating object sizes.
  • To compare the estimation accuracy between forensic clinicians and individuals from other professions.
  • To determine the extent of overestimation when size measurement is difficult.

Main Methods:

  • Ten test objects were used to assess size estimation.
  • Participants included 10 physicians, 1 nurse (forensic clinicians), and 13 individuals from other professions.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Participants handled objects but were prohibited from using measuring devices.

    • Main Results:

    • The entire sample significantly overestimated the size of three objects (balloon, scratch, coin) by 13-22%.
    • Both groups overestimated scratch size, with clinicians showing slightly better accuracy.
    • No significant difference in accuracy was found between clinicians and non-clinicians for scratch size estimation.

    Conclusions:

    • Clinician 'guestimates' of object size can be inaccurate, leading to significant overestimation.
    • The practice of estimating sizes should be avoided in favor of precise measurement whenever feasible.
    • Measurement tools should be used unless doing so compromises client interests.