ABSTRACT
Attimes,astandardmethodforaparticulartestormeasurementissimplynotavailable.Inthatcase,thelaboratory willusuallydevelopitsownmethodoradaptonefroma journalorothersourcetomeetthespecificneed.Ifintended forrepetitiveuse,suchmethodswillthenbeadoptedas"inhouse"methods.Toensurethattheyareproperlydocumentedandcontainalloftheessentialinformation,theyshould bepreparedaccordingtoaprescribedformat.Eachmethod shouldbedescribedbytheprofessionalwhoisresponsiblefor itsadoption,anditshouldpreferablybereviewedbyamethodseditorordocumentationgroupforclarity,conciseness, uniformityofstyle,etc.Thedocumentshouldinclude:
•Aninformativetitle,amethodnumber,andthedateadopted, withreferencetopreviouseditionsifitisarevision
•Astatementonthesignificanceofthemethod •Thescopeofthemethodandinterferences •Samplingrequirementsandprecautions •Theprincipleorsummaryofthemethod •Safetyprecautions •Neededequipment,reagents,andmaterials,withsuggested
sourceofsupplyforunusualitems •Directionsforcalibrationorstandardization •Detailedoperatingprocedure •Methodofcalculatingandreportingresults •Astatementonprecisionandaccuracy •Pertinentreferencestothesourceofthemethod(journal,
textbook,internalreport,etc.) •Authorandapprovingauthority
Dependingonthemethod,onemaywanttoincludesuch othertopicsasoperatingprecautions,maintenancehints,referencetables,etc.
