Fundamentals of Analytical Chemistry are usually presented as a sum of
chemical and physical foundations, laws, axioms and equations for
analytical methods and procedures. In contrast, this book delivers a
practice-oriented, general guiding theory valid for all methods and
techniques. Starting with a closer look to analytical signals and their
dependencies, all the important figures of merit characterizing the
power of analytical procedures and the reliability of analytical results
are discussed and quantified, such as sensitivity, precision, accuracy
and ruggedness. Elements of signal theory, information theory,
statistics and fundamentals of calibration are also presented for this
aim. The metrological foundations included define strictly the figures
of merit in order to minimize confusions still appearing in Analytical
Chemistry publications today.