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 Concept Videos

Uncertainty: Overview00:59

Uncertainty: Overview

In analytical chemistry, we often perform repetitive measurements to detect and minimize inaccuracies caused by both determinate and indeterminate errors. Despite the cares we take, the presence of random errors means that repeated measurements almost never have exactly the same magnitude. The collective difference between these measurements - observed values - and the estimated or expected value is called uncertainty. Uncertainty is conventionally written after the estimated or expected value.
Uncertainty in Measurement: Reading Instruments02:46

Uncertainty in Measurement: Reading Instruments

Counting is the type of measurement that is free from uncertainty, provided the number of objects being counted does not change during the process. Such measurements result in exact numbers. By counting the eggs in a carton, for instance, one can determine exactly how many eggs are there in the carton. Similarly, the numbers of defined quantities are also exact. For example, 1 foot is exactly 12 inches, 1 inch is exactly 2.54 centimeters, and 1 gram is exactly 0.001 kilograms. Quantities...
Olfaction01:25

Olfaction

The sense of smell is achieved through the activities of the olfactory system. It starts when an airborne odorant enters the nasal cavity and reaches olfactory epithelium (OE). The OE is protected by a thin layer of mucus, which also serves the purpose of dissolving more complex compounds into simpler chemical odorants. The size of the OE and the density of sensory neurons varies among species; in humans, the OE is only about 9-10 cm2.
The olfactory receptors are embedded in the cilia of the...
Uncertainty in Measurement: Accuracy and Precision03:37

Uncertainty in Measurement: Accuracy and Precision

Scientists typically make repeated measurements of a quantity to ensure the quality of their findings and to evaluate both the precision and the accuracy of their results. Measurements are said to be precise if they yield very similar results when repeated in the same manner. A measurement is considered accurate if it yields a result that is very close to the true or the accepted value. Precise values agree with each other; accurate values agree with a true value.
Uncertainty: Confidence Intervals00:54

Uncertainty: Confidence Intervals

The confidence interval is the range of values around the mean that contains the true mean. It is expressed as a probability percentage. The interpretation of a 95% confidence interval, for instance, is that the statistician is 95% confident that the true mean falls within the interval. The upper and lower limits of this range are known as confidence limits. The confidence limits for the true mean are estimated from the sample's mean, the standard deviation, and the statistical factor 't,' or...
Propagation of Uncertainty from Random Error00:59

Propagation of Uncertainty from Random Error

An experiment often consists of more than a single step. In this case, measurements at each step give rise to uncertainty. Because the measurements occur in successive steps, the uncertainty in one step necessarily contributes to that in the subsequent step. As we perform statistical analysis on these types of experiments, we must learn to account for the propagation of uncertainty from one step to the next. The propagation of uncertainty depends on the type of arithmetic operation performed on...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Investigation of morphological change of lateral and midline fluid percussion injury in rats, using magnetic resonance imaging.

Neurosurgery·1997
Same author

Down-regulation of endogenous nitric oxide synthase in late-pregnancy and parturition in the rat hypothalamic magnocellular neurons and neurohypophysis.

Neuroscience letters·1996
Same author

Primary culture of chicken hepatocytes in serum-free medium (pH 7.8) secreted albumin and transferrin for a long period in free gas exchange with atmosphere.

The international journal of biochemistry & cell biology·1996
Same author

Myelodysplastic syndrome during recombinant human growth hormone supplementation after treatment for neuroblastoma.

Pediatric hematology and oncology·1996
Same author

Spinal epidural abscess associated with epidural anesthesia: gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging and its usefulness in diagnosis and treatment.

Internal medicine (Tokyo, Japan)·1996
Same author

Intrabulbar infusions of (+/-)S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine and L-arginine induce functional plasticity in the accessory olfactory bulb of female mice.

Neuroscience letters·1996
Same journal

Pyrolysis temperature shapes the structure and filtration capacity of spent-coffee-ground biochar for 1-μm microplastics and bacteria removal from wastewater.

Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research·2026
Same journal

Effect of cooling and cover material on the performance of a solar humidification-dehumidification system used for brine concentration.

Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research·2026
Same journal

Comparative multi-criteria assessment of decentralized wastewater treatment technologies for coastal tourist communities and island slaughterhouses: a design framework with uncertainty analysis for Latin America.

Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research·2026
Same journal

An improved relative frequency method for flood season partitioning.

Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research·2026
Same journal

Drivers of wastewater dynamics: a statistical analysis of England's large wastewater treatment works.

Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research·2026
Same journal

A review on modification of piezoelectric materials for wastewater treatment: mechanisms, applications, and future perspectives.

Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Split Point Analysis and Uncertainty Quantification of Thermal-Optical Organic/Elemental Carbon Measurements
10:22

Split Point Analysis and Uncertainty Quantification of Thermal-Optical Organic/Elemental Carbon Measurements

Published on: September 7, 2019

Estimation of uncertainty in olfactometry.

T Higuchi1

  • 1Department of Sustainable Environmental Engineering, Yamaguchi University, 2-16-1 Tokiwadai, Ube, Yamaguchi 755-8611, Japan. takaya@yamaguchi-u.ac.jp

Water Science and Technology : a Journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research
|April 22, 2009
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Estimating uncertainty in odour measurement is crucial for accurate results. This study effectively used interlaboratory comparisons to determine odour measurement uncertainty, improving olfactometry quality control.

More Related Videos

A Free-breathing fMRI Method to Study Human Olfactory Function
10:42

A Free-breathing fMRI Method to Study Human Olfactory Function

Published on: July 30, 2017

Combining a Breath-Synchronized Olfactometer with Brain Simulation to Study the Impact of Odors on Corticospinal Excitability and Effective Connectivity
06:13

Combining a Breath-Synchronized Olfactometer with Brain Simulation to Study the Impact of Odors on Corticospinal Excitability and Effective Connectivity

Published on: January 19, 2024

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Split Point Analysis and Uncertainty Quantification of Thermal-Optical Organic/Elemental Carbon Measurements
10:22

Split Point Analysis and Uncertainty Quantification of Thermal-Optical Organic/Elemental Carbon Measurements

Published on: September 7, 2019

A Free-breathing fMRI Method to Study Human Olfactory Function
10:42

A Free-breathing fMRI Method to Study Human Olfactory Function

Published on: July 30, 2017

Combining a Breath-Synchronized Olfactometer with Brain Simulation to Study the Impact of Odors on Corticospinal Excitability and Effective Connectivity
06:13

Combining a Breath-Synchronized Olfactometer with Brain Simulation to Study the Impact of Odors on Corticospinal Excitability and Effective Connectivity

Published on: January 19, 2024

Area of Science:

  • Environmental Science
  • Analytical Chemistry
  • Metrology

Background:

  • Accurate odour measurement requires robust uncertainty estimation.
  • Olfactometry results interpretation depends on understanding measurement variability.
  • Standardized procedures for uncertainty estimation are vital for reliable data.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To establish an effective procedure for estimating measurement uncertainty in odour analysis.
  • To utilize interlaboratory comparison data for uncertainty assessment in olfactometry.
  • To propose a coherent interpretation method for odour measurement results and enhance quality control.

Main Methods:

  • Following fundamental uncertainty estimation procedures as per ISO standards.
  • Employing collaborative study data (interlaboratory comparisons) for olfactometry.
  • Applying a simple statistical model to estimate measurement uncertainty for the triangular odour bag method.

Main Results:

  • Measurement uncertainty for the triangular odour bag method was estimated using data from 2003-2007.
  • The expanded uncertainty of the odour index was found to range between 3.1 and 6.7.
  • The study demonstrated the effectiveness of using collaborative test results for uncertainty estimation.

Conclusions:

  • The proposed uncertainty estimation procedure provides a basis for coherent interpretation of odour measurement results.
  • Effective and practical quality control for olfactometry can be achieved through this method.
  • Utilizing interlaboratory comparison data is a reasonable approach for odour measurement uncertainty estimation.