Scientific research generates data. However, if the quality of the data is poor and unreliable, progress will be impeded- sometimes for years. Scientists conducting research must be fully equipped with the appropriate tools to plan and execute well managed, reproducible scientific research. The aim of this book is to introduce the topic of quality assurance management systems such as ISO17025 and ISO9001 to scientists at an early stage in their careers. It describes the issues they are likely to encounter in the workplace: what should be done to check (and double-check) their work and how to document what they have done. There are many interesting scientific challenges on the way – puzzling out what could possibly go wrong and avoiding the problem is often as fascinating as carrying out the work itself.

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