Random and Systematic Errors, continued

How to Subscribe
MLS & MLT Comprehensive CE Package
Includes 176 CE courses, most popular
$109Add to cart
Pick Your Courses
Up to 8 CE hours
$55Add to cart
Individual course$25Add to cart
Need multiple seats for your university or lab? Get a quote
The page below is a sample from the LabCE course Introduction to Quality Control. Access the complete course and earn ASCLS P.A.C.E.-approved continuing education credits by subscribing online.

Learn more about Introduction to Quality Control (online CE course)
Random and Systematic Errors, continued

Random error affects the precision of a test (reproducibility). Some things that could cause random errors are
  • bubbles in reagents or reagent lines;
  • instrument instability;
  • temperature variations; and
  • Operator variability, such as variation in pipetting.
Systematic error causes inaccurate results that are consistently low or high. Some things that could cause systematic errors include
  • change in reagent lot;
  • change in calibration;
  • assigning the wrong calibrator values;
  • reagents that were improperly prepared or are deteriorating;
  • pipettor maintenance error (not adjusted correctly or misaligned); and/or
  • a deteriorating photometric light source in the instrument.