On screening samples in the laboratory and factors in factorial investigations

Abstract

Procedures such as group testing and fractional replication can greatly reduce the workload. The former is especially efficient when the presence of a characteristic in samples is low. Fractional replication can greatly reduce the amount of experimentation when some of the parameters associated with a factorial are nonexistent or negligible. Supersaturated fractional replication can be used to efficiently screen factors when it is suspected that they may not affect a process but it is desired to check this suspicion. There are many types of grouping and pooling material in an investigation. Some of these are discussed as are the interrelationships among the above procedures.