(ASTM: W. Conshohocken, PA) -- The eighth edition of the ASTM International Manual on Presentation of Data and Control Chart Analysis is now available. This manual includes the latest information on statistical and quality control methods, as well as recommendations for their application in various types of engineering work.

The three general objectives in gathering engineering data are included in the manual: physical constants and frequency distributions, relationship between two or more variables, and causes of observed phenomena.

Part 1 discusses frequency distributions, simple statistical measures, and the concise presentation of the essential information contained in a singles set of n observations. It also covers construction of box plots with a clearer definition of terms, as well as new sections on probability plots and transformations.

Part 2 examines the problem of expressing plus/minus limits of uncertainty for various statistical measures, together with some working rules for rounding-off observed results to an appropriate number of significant figures.

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