NOVEX NOTES 173 / English
Recovery and trueness in analytical measurement
Editorial educational material · 16 October 2026
Understanding the question
A recovery experiment can inform method evaluation, but its meaning depends on how it was performed. It does not answer every question about the closeness of a result to the relevant reference value.
A worked example
A fictional assay reports satisfactory recovery for an added reference while the original material contains a component that behaves differently during preparation. The reviewer does not automatically conclude that all sample results are unbiased. Instead, the reviewer checks what the experiment actually represented and which limitations were acknowledged.
Original editorial teaching example, not clinical trial findings.What to check
Use the documented purpose of the recovery test. Do not relabel it as comprehensive accuracy evidence. Present the evaluated step and remaining uncertainty so a reader can distinguish a useful experiment from a broader unsupported claim.
Source and further reading
IUPAC — Use of recovery information ↗
Educational material. The source concerns the scientific topic, not NOVEX products. This article does not verify product properties or provide administration instructions. A short guide is not a systematic review.