{"term":{"id":"01553","title":"definitive method","longtitle":"IUPAC Gold Book - definitive method","doi":"10.1351\/goldbook.D01553","code":"D01553","status":"current","definitions":[{"id":1,"text":"A method of exceptional scientific status which is sufficiently accurate to stand alone in the determination of a given property for the certification of a reference material. Such a method must have a firm theoretical foundation so that systematic error is negligible relative to the intended use. Analyte masses (amounts) or concentrations must be measured directly in terms of the base units of measurements, or indirectly related through sound theoretical equations. Definitive methods, together with certified reference materials, are primary means for transferring accuracy, i.e. establishing traceability.","links":[{"term":"reference material","url":"https:\/\/goldbook.iupac.org\/\/terms\/view\/R05230"},{"term":"systematic error","url":"https:\/\/goldbook.iupac.org\/\/terms\/view\/S06235"},{"term":"traceability","url":"https:\/\/goldbook.iupac.org\/\/terms\/view\/T06420"}],"sources":["PAC, 1995, 67, 1699. 'Nomenclature in evaluation of analytical methods including detection and quantification capabilities (IUPAC Recommendations 1995)' on page 1701 (https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1351\/pac199567101699)"]}],"altoutputs":{"html":"https:\/\/goldbook.iupac.org\/terms\/view\/D01553\/html","xml":"https:\/\/goldbook.iupac.org\/terms\/view\/D01553\/xml","plain":"https:\/\/goldbook.iupac.org\/terms\/view\/D01553\/plain"},"citation":"Citation: 'definitive method' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351\/goldbook.D01553","license":"The IUPAC Gold Book is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike CC BY-SA 4.0 International (https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/) for individual terms.","collection":"If you are interested in licensing the Gold Book for commercial use, please contact the IUPAC Executive Director at executivedirector@iupac.org .","disclaimer":"The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is continuously reviewing and, where needed, updating terms in the Compendium of Chemical Terminology (the IUPAC Gold Book). Users of these terms are encouraged to include the version of a term with its use and to check regularly for updates to term definitions that you are using.","accessed":"2026-06-28T17:32:13+00:00"}}