title: Possible Advantages of a Robust Evaluation of Comparisons.
abstract: Mean values, traditionally used as a location parameter in the analysis of inter-comparisons, are known to lack stability against the effect of "outliers". It is therefore proposed to replace (or complement) them by the use of medians, which have better statistical "robustness". An estimate for the corresponding uncertainty is derived and the procedure is illustrated by a numerical example. The simplicity of the suggested robust approach should favor its practical use in a number of metrological applications.
authors.affiliation: Bureau International des Poids et Mesures, F-92312 Sevres, France.
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Müller
keywords: comparisons; median; robust statistics; uncertainty; variance