Average Replicates

The Average Replicates option in the File menu is a convenience for manually initiating the averaging of replicates in the current data table. If an Imported data set contains replicates, or if one or more data sets with common X-values are Appended, this option can be used to average the replicates. In AutoSignal, replicates are based on the X-values coinciding to within 1E-8 fractional precision.

Automatic Averaging

This option is not usually necessary since AutoSignal will automatically average the replicates before opening any Time menu, Spectral menu, or Process menu option. The replicates will also be automatically processed if the data are viewed using the View option in the Data menu.

Appending and Averaging

If you are appending multiple data sets, you should not invoke this option until you have appended all of the data sets. AutoSignal's data table retains only the variance at each X-value, not the number of samples at that X. This means that you cannot meaningfully append a signal to a data table that already consists of averaged values since the averaged set and the additional signal would be given equal weight in the averaging.

Saving and Averaging

To save the appended sets prior to averaging, you must use the Save As procedure before using this option, before opening the View option in the Data menu, and before opening any Time menu, Spectral menu, or Process menu option. If you want to save only the averaged set, you can first use this option prior to saving the data.

When the replicates are averaged, whether by this option or automatically, the original appended series can be restored with the Reset XY Data option.

Error Bars

Error bars will be available in the Data menu's View option if replicates are averaged. If all of the replicates for a given X-value are identical, an SD of 0 is used for the error bar. If only a single value is available, AutoSignal uses the conservative approach of setting the SD for that point to the range of the Y-variable.