Remembering Old Practices to Validate Measurement Data

Measurement data only becomes information if it is credible and useful. Usefulness is something hard to judge because it depends on who is going to use the data (the consumer) and for what purpose (the end application). Credibility, in turn, is easier to assess because it mostly depends on the conditions in which the data was acquired. If the measurement chain is working properly, including sensors, signal conditioning circuits, and analog-to-digital converters, then it is very likely that the data is valid. As a rule of thumb, we can rely on the data if the measuring method is adequate, and all the instruments involved in the measuring procedure are working fine.