Equipment Calibration
Equipment Calibration - Related Videos
07:43
Calibration Curves
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2023
Source: Laboratory of Dr. B. Jill Venton - University of Virginia Calibration curves are used to understand the instrumental response to an analyte and predict the concentration in an unknown sample. Generally, a set of standard samples are made at various concentrations with a range than includes the unknown of interest and the instrumental response at each concentration is recorded. For more accuracy and to understand the error, the response at each concentration can be repeated so an error...
01:11
Glassware Calibration
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2024
Accurate calibration of glassware, such as volumetric flasks, pipettes, and burettes, is essential to ensure accurate measurements in the analytical laboratory. Calibration helps maintain consistency across measurements and prevents errors arising from inaccurate volumes. Volumetric flasks: Volumetric flasks are designed to prepare aqueous solutions of precise volumes accurately with a calibration line on the neck. To calibrate a volumetric flask, it is important to fill it with distilled...
01:18
Leveling Equipment
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2025
As leveling involves measuring vertical distances relative to a horizontal line of sight, it requires a graduated rod, called a level rod, for vertical measurements and an instrument called a level for a horizontal sight line. A level includes a high-powered telescope with a mechanism for leveling to ensure the line of sight is horizontal when the bubble in the spirit level is centered. Leveling rods, made of wood, metal, or fiberglass, are graduated in feet or meters and commonly used in two-...
05:37
Proper Personal Protective Equipment
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2023
Robert M. Rioux & William A Elliott, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA Hazards are many and varied in the laboratory, but the right choice of PPE can make the laboratory a safe place to work.
08:12
Pressure Transducer: Calibration Using a Pitot-static Tube
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2023
Source: Shreyas Narsipur, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC Fluid pressure is an important flow characteristic that is required to determine the aerodynamics of a system. One of the oldest and still existing pressure measurement systems is the manometer due to its accuracy and simplicity of operation. The manometer is generally a U-shaped glass tube that is partially filled with liquid, as shown in Figure 1. The U-tube manometer requires no...
FAQs
Researchers apply controlled inputs to an instrument and compare its recorded response with the expected response from a known reference standard. The difference indicates whether the device is measuring accurately or deviating from the expected value. Checking that deviation against predefined limits helps identify errors that could otherwise be mistaken for changes in cognition, attention, emotion, or behavior.
Controlled inputs create a consistent test condition, allowing researchers to evaluate the instrument’s response rather than differences in how the test was conducted. Predefined limits provide an objective basis for deciding whether performance remains acceptable. Together, these controls make calibration results more consistent and help researchers determine whether collected psychological data can support valid interpretations.
Instrument drift is a change in device performance that can occur independently of a participant’s psychological state. Repeated calibration checks reveal whether measurements remain aligned with the reference standard. If a device response falls outside expected limits, apparent changes in attention, cognition, emotion, or behavior may reflect measurement error rather than a genuine experimental effect.
Documenting an instrument’s performance preserves information about its accuracy and any deviations identified during testing. This record supports decisions about whether results meet predefined limits and provides a basis for comparing measurements across research sessions. It also strengthens reproducibility because investigators can account for equipment behavior instead of treating every recorded difference as a participant-related finding.
A practical sequence begins by applying controlled inputs from a known reference standard. Researchers then measure the instrument’s response, compare it with the expected value, identify any deviation, and adjust or document performance as appropriate. Finally, they verify whether the results remain within predefined limits. This sequence creates a consistent check before interpreting measurements from a psychology study.
Calibration is especially relevant to equipment that records physiological, behavioral, or perceptual responses. Examples include eye trackers, EEG systems, physiological sensors, and behavioral response equipment. For these devices, accurate setup and performance affect how researchers interpret attention, cognition, emotion, and behavior. Calibration therefore supports the reliability of measurements across the different instruments used in psychological research.
Reliable calibration helps investigators separate participant-related variation from errors caused by the instrument, environmental conditions, or inconsistent setup. That distinction improves confidence in findings about attention, cognition, emotion, and behavior. It also supports reproducibility, because another research session can be evaluated against documented equipment performance rather than relying only on the recorded observations.