In the clinical laboratory, the coefficient of variation is used for two main purposes:
- to aid in the selection of a new method for routine use
- to monitor the inherent variability (precision) of a method already in routine use
Selection of a new method for routine use requires comparative precision data. If the two methods being compared have different means and/or units, calculating their CVs provides the comparison. (However, if two methods have the same units and measure the same quantity but have different means, this could signify that one of the instruments is miscalibrated.)
