Full scale interlaboratory (collaborative) studies are becoming too expensive and time consuming to support their use as the only way to validate methods of analysis. Furthermore, reliable estimates of method performance parameters, such as accuracy, precision, and limits of applicability, cannot be achieved by individual collaborative studies at the concentration levels of 0.01-1 mg.kg(-1), the region of interest for residue analysis, when the expected random error among laboratories is of the order of 20-30% of the mean. Performance data from proficiency studies of tens of thousands of control determinations accumulated over the past decade from individual and multiple laboratories are being examined to determine their potential as a substitute for interlaboratory performance data. An analysis of variance indicates that as much as 80% of the total variability of pesticide residue analysis is "random error." If this is the case, proficiency data may be substituted for method-performance data, when recovery is acceptable, because the individual factors of analyte, method, matrix, laboratory, and time contribute little to overall variability.
