scope:

The 'Guide to the expression of uncertainty in measurement' (GUM) establishes general rules for evaluating and expressing uncertainty in measurement from the shop floor to fundamental research. Therefore, the principles of this suite of documents are intended to be applicable to a broad spectrum of measurements and their applications. An overview of the parts of the GUM is given in table A.1 in Annex A.

NOTE Where the acronym GUM is used in this document, it refers to the suite of documents. For an individual part (for example part 3) of the GUM, this is referred to as JCGM GUM-3.

This document gives a rationale for evaluating, expressing and using measurement uncertainty (Clause 2). A brief introduction is given to measurement (Clause 3) and to the decisions involved when evaluating measurement uncertainty (Clause 4). In Clause 5, a brief description of the contents of the parts of the GUM is given. In each of these clauses, the relevant parts of the GUM are identified for further guidance.