Instruments that are carefully calibrated for a properly designed
experimental procedure are needed.
Flawed instruments or experimental procedures result in systematic
errors—errors that can be detected and corrected.
As a result of systematic errors, the data may have good precision but
not necessarily have good accuracy. To have good accuracy of data, the
systematic errors must be minimized.
Because scientists collect data, random errors may also occur in
measurements. Random errors are a result of reading or interpreting
the value from the measuring instrument.