STATISTICAL EVALUATION OF QUANTITATIVE ANTIPERSPIRANT DATA (I)

An improved method for the quantitative measurement of perspiration on human subjects was developed. It consisted of the use of small perforated containers of dehydrated silica gel, designed to be preweighed, then taped to subjects' skins so that sweat output could be collected at specific areas. The investigation described in this report was concerned with the evaluation of the ability of these devices to distinguish between typical antiperspirant treatments and other experimental variables. In the present case, the antiperspirants were applied in the form of aqueous solutions of active materials. A major object of the study was to test the application of a conventional statistical analysis (analysis of variance) to data obtained with the silica gel device. The results indicated that the measurement was sufficiently precise to allow comparisons of the efficacy of some antiperspirant materials with a blank and with each other and that a balanced experimental design plus an analysis of variance was satisfactory, statistically sound and very useful in interpreting the resulting data.