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Fig. 1 | BMC Research Notes

Fig. 1

From: How many of the digits in a mean of 12.3456789012 are worth reporting?

Fig. 1

Experimental dependence of sig-digs in a mean, DM, on the C = mean/SEM quotient. The small triangles are integer significant digits that are the sum of the decades reached so far. The unfilled circles are the index DM. They are close to the line DM = log10 (C) line (with slope 1.0 and intercept zero). The area below and to the right of this line is the domain of significant digits in the mean; above and to the left the digits are random junk. The broken line staircase above the diagonal DM = log10 (C) line shows the simple case for integer (1, 2, 3 and so on) sig-digs. Rule 1A (in Rules Box, near the end) is for this broken line (see text). The unbroken line staircase shows the better but slightly more complex Rule 1B (listed in Rules Box, near the end) that gives a more uniform distance between the staircase and the DM = log10 (C) line

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