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Intraobserver error associated with measurements of the hand
Author(s) -
Weinberg Seth M.,
Scott Nicole M.,
Neiswanger Katherine,
Marazita Mary L.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
american journal of human biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.559
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1520-6300
pISSN - 1042-0533
DOI - 10.1002/ajhb.20129
Subject(s) - hum , replicate , statistics , anthropometry , reliability (semiconductor) , observational error , standard error , degree (music) , length measurement , numerical digit , mathematics , accuracy and precision , medicine , arithmetic , acoustics , optics , physics , power (physics) , art , performance art , art history , quantum mechanics
Measurements of the hand are common in studies that use anthropometric data. However, despite widespread usage, relatively few studies have formally assessed the degree of measurement error associated with standard measurements of the hand. This is significant because high amounts of measurement error can invalidate statistical results. In this paper, intraobserver precision estimates for measures of total hand length and total 3rd‐digit length were evaluated from repeated measures on 90 subjects (180 separate hands and fingers). From this replicate data, three precision estimates were calculated: the technical error of measurement (TEM), the relative technical error of measurement (rTEM), and the coefficient of reliability ( R ). For both measurements, all three estimates yielded a very high degree of precision (TEM < 2 mm, rTEM < 1%, and R ≥ 0.95). These results suggest that both total hand length and 3rd‐digit length are sufficiently precise for anthropometric research applications. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 17:368–371, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.