[R] Validation of R

[Setzer.Woodrow@epamail.epa.gov]

This discussion reminds me of the hall-grousing about QA requirements
that I hear (and participate in at times!) in my Laboratory.  QA
requirements generally address issues such as record-keeping, equipment
maintenance and calibration, and standardizing methods that are used
repeatedly.  By no means does satisfying such QA requirements guarantee
that conclusions drawn under such conditions are correct!  They do help
to eliminate some common sources of error, and the cost is generally not
so great.

With respect to software validation, certainly ensuring that the package
is installed properly and gives generally correct results for
calculations helps to allay concerns of non-specialists who have to rely
on the results of the package.  In some applications, the fact that the
package used for a data analysis is completely open is a definite
advantage (for example, in a government regulatory setting, such as here
at the US EPA), since reviewers can have complete access to the
computational machinery used in the analysis.

R. Woodrow Setzer, Jr.                        Phone: (919) 541-0128
Experimental Toxicology Division             Fax:  (919) 541-4284
Pharmacokinetics Branch
NHEERL B143-05; US EPA; RTP, NC 27711