ASTM_E_1499_-_97_2009.pdf

Designation:E149997(Reapproved 2009)Standard Guide forSelection,Evaluation,and Training of Observers1This standard is issued under the fixed designation E1499;the number immediately following the designation indicates the year oforiginal adoption or,in the case of revision,the year of last revision.A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval.Asuperscript epsilon()indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.1.Scope1.1 This guide describes criteria and tests for selecting,evaluating,and training human visual-sensory observers fortasks involving the perception and scaling of properties andphenomena relating to appearance.1.2 Examples of tests requiring the use of trained observersinclude but are not limited to those described in the followingASTM standards:on color,Practice D1535 and PracticeE1360;on color difference,Practice D1729 and Test MethodD2616;on gloss,Test Method D4449;on metamerism,Prac-tice D4086;and on setting tolerances,Practice D3134.1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of thesafety concerns,if any,associated with its use.It is theresponsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro-priate safety and health practices and determine the applica-bility of regulatory limitations prior to use.2.Referenced Documents2.1 ASTM Standards:2D1535 Practice for Specifying Color by the Munsell SystemD1729 Practice for Visual Appraisal of Colors and ColorDifferences of Diffusely-Illuminated Opaque MaterialsD2616 Test Method for Evaluation of Visual Color Differ-ence With a Gray ScaleD3134 Practice for Establishing Color and Gloss TolerancesD4086 Practice for Visual Evaluation of MetamerismD4449 Test Method for Visual Evaluation of Gloss Differ-ences Between Surfaces of Similar AppearanceE284 Terminology of AppearanceE1360 Practice for Specifying Color by Using the OpticalSociety of America Uniform Color Scales System3.Terminology3.1 DefinitionsDefinitions of appearance terms in Termi-nology E284 are applicable to this guide.3.2 Definitions of Terms Specific to This Standard:3.2.1 appearance,nin psychophysical studies,perceptionin which the spectral and geometric aspects of a visual stimulusare integrated with its illuminating and viewing environment.3.2.2 observer,none who judges visually,qualitatively orquantitatively,the content of one or more appearance attributesin each member of a set of objects or stimuli.3.2.3 scale,vto assess the content of one or more appear-ance attributes in the members of a set of stimuli.3.2.3.1 DiscussionAlternatively,scales may be deter-mined by assessing the difference in content of an attributewith respect to the differences in that attribute among themembers of the set.4.Summary of Guide4.1 This guide provides descriptions of techniques and testsfor the selection of candidates for observers for use in visualtesting,for the evaluation of their capabilities in this field,andfor their training to enhance these capabilities.4.2 Discussion is provided of precautions required for theefficient use of observers in visual tests,including avoidance ofovertaxing the observers and the control of test variables.4.3 Other considerations of test design,including the num-bers of observers and observations required and the precisionof the visual results,are to be covered elsewhere.5.Significance and Use5.1 The term appearance(see 3.2.1)implies the essentialpresence of human visual observations.The results of visualobservation involve not only the step of observing,accom-plished by the eye,but also the inseparable step of interpreta-tion in the brain.Instrumental test methods currently cannotduplicate this second step,and therefore can now onlyapproximate,but not fully measure,appearance.Such instru-mental measures of appearance properties are useful only to theextent that they can be correlated to the results of visualobservations by observers of the appearance phenomena beingevaluated.1This guide is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee E12 on Color andAppearance and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee E12.11 on VisualMethods.Current edition approved Dec.1,2009.Published December 2009.Originallyapproved in 1992.Last previous edition approved in 2003 as E1499 97(2003).DOI:10.1520/E1499-97R09.2For referenced ASTM standards,visit the ASTM website,www.astm.org,orcontact ASTM Customer Service at serviceastm.org.For Annual Book of ASTMStandards volume information,refer to the standards Document Summary page onthe ASTM website.Copyright ASTM International,100 Barr Harbor Drive,PO Box C700,West Conshohocken,PA 19428-2959.United States1 5.2 Almost invariably,too little attention has been paid toensuring that the essential visual observations have beenproperly obtained to provide the basis for correlating visual andinstrumental test results.(The only recent book devoted tovisual measurements(1)3has no index entry for observer.)5.3 This guide provides the means for assessing observers,by outlining the requirements and tests for