Discussion on the Homogeneity Test for Microbiological Reference Materials

Reference material (RM) providers usually use ANOVA method to test homogeneity for RM candidates. The three perquisites of ANOVA should not be ignored before the test, which may lead to an inappropriate result. In another hand, a high-precision method may find a significant a degree of heterogeneity which is sometimes inconsequential, especially in homogeneity test for microbiological reference materials. A ‘sufficient homogeneity’ method is recommended to avoid this defect in homogeneity test.

This research was supported by National Key Technology R&D Program (2017YFF0206503, 2017YFF0209004, 2016YFF0204205) and China National Institute of Standardization through the “special funds for the basic R&D undertakings by welfare research institutions” (522018Y-5948, 522019Y-6781, 522019Y-6771).

Authors and Affiliations

1. China National Institute of Standardization, Beijing, China

   Fan Zhang, Jing Zhao, Chao Zhao, Gang Wu, Xinyu Cao & Haitao Wang

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fan Zhang .

Editors and Affiliations

1. Faculty of Engineering Management, Poznan University of Technology, Poznan, Poland

   Beata Mrugalska

2. Poznan University of Technology, Poznan, Poland

   Stefan Trzcielinski

3. University of Central Florida, Winter Park, FL, USA

   Waldemar Karwowski

4. Architecture Department, University of Chieti-Pescara, Pescara, Pescara, Italy

   Massimo Di Nicolantonio

5. Lincoln School of Design, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK

   Emilio Rossi

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