Reader or observer error, which is mainly due to visual or
psychological reasons, occurs in practically all diagnostic,
clinical and laboratory work. The nature of this phenomenon,
sometimes called the “human factor”, is to a large extent
unknown. Nevertheless, under certain conditions it is
measurable. The degree and frequency of error-overreading
as well as under-reading varies from one person to another
and also within the same individual at different times.
Interindividual reader variations in smear microscopy
has been repeatedly studied and its frequency has
been found relatively low compared, for instance, with
interindividual error in say, chest radiography.
It seems likely that many reader errors would be avoided
if each microscopist were properly trained and strongly
advised to report what he actually saw, and never what he
thought he was expected to see. However, discrepancies in
the results of smear microscopy are far more often due to
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