Use and Misuse of Regression for Chemical Analysis

It is standard practice in analytical chemistry to use linear regression, particularly to calibrate analytical instruments. If a regression line were used to estimate the output of the instrument for a known concentration of analyte, all would be well. However, chemists use this line in reverse, estimating the concentration of an unknown analyte from the output of the instrument. In this talk we explore how this misuse of the regression line influences the estimation of concentration.