Messparameters

Messparameter is a term used in measurement science to denote a quantity that characterizes a measurement process, instrument, or result. A Messparameter describes the performance, quality, or behavior of the system that produces data and thereby affects the value, reliability, and uncertainty of a measured quantity.

Typical Messparameters fall into several groups: instrument-related parameters such as range, resolution, accuracy, precision, bias (offset), linearity, hysteresis, noise, and drift; environmental and experimental conditions such as temperature coefficient, pressure, humidity, and vibration; and procedure-related or metrological parameters such as calibration coefficients, transfer functions, sampling rate, data-processing filters, and fit parameters used in data analysis.

Messparameters are used to specify requirements, compare instruments, and perform uncertainty analysis. In calibration and metrology, they are recorded as part of performance specifications and contribute to the uncertainty budget. Uncertainty estimation follows established frameworks (for example, the Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement), and the total uncertainty is the result of propagating the contributions of the individual Messparameters, often categorized as type A (statistical) or type B (systematic).

Practically, measuring scientists specify Messparameters when selecting equipment, designing experiments, and reporting results. Researchers may report a measured value together with its associated Messparameters and the uncertainty budget, enabling traceability to reference standards.