Issue 4, 2007

The use of Zipf's law in the screening of analytical data: a step beyond Benford

Abstract

This study shows for the first time the effectiveness of Zipf's law in screening analytical data sets for outliers, data formatting and data transcription errors, particularly when the data sets are small. In the case of pollutant concentrations in ambient air, the multivariate nature of the measurement, and the relationship between the measured values of these multivariant quantities are the characteristics that allow a Zipf's law approach to data screening to be successful. Furthermore, it has been shown that Zipf's law has advantages over other novel data screening techniques, such as Benford's law, in terms of sensitivity and scope.

Graphical abstract: The use of Zipf's law in the screening of analytical data: a step beyond Benford

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
14 Dec 2006
Accepted
05 Feb 2007
First published
14 Feb 2007

Analyst, 2007,132, 344-349

The use of Zipf's law in the screening of analytical data: a step beyond Benford

R. J. C. Brown, Analyst, 2007, 132, 344 DOI: 10.1039/B618255K

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements