The International Workshop on Improving Data Quality in XAFS Spectroscopy (Q2XAFS2017) will be held at Diamond Light Source (United Kingdom) on the 14th and 15th of August 2017. This is a Satellite Meeting of the IUCr Congress. The workshop aims to bring together experts in the field of X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy to discuss aspects of the technique that affect data quality in XAFS experiments.
Q2XAFS2017 will provide a forum for discussions with the goal of reviewing international standards and protocols, and developing revised recommendations for best practice when performing XAFS experiments. It will also look towards the first agreed data formats and standards for XAFS data and deposition. The workshop will be attended by scientists working at international facilities as well as academics.
The event aims to cover all aspects of a XAFS experiment that affect data quality, from the preparation of the experiment to data collection and data reduction, but also will consider methods that can help deliver robust means to assess data quality. Special attention will be paid to sample preparation, highlighting how the quality of the sample can dramatically affect the quality of the collected data. The workshop will also cover the data collection optimisation procedures adopted and implemented at state of the art instruments currently operating at light sources around the world. These instruments tackle measurements performed on systems ranging from the very dilute to pure elements, and on measurement time scales ranging from microseconds to minutes and longer. Specific issues associated with the various spectrometer characteristics will also be presented. Importantly the meeting will provide a timely opportunity for expert practitioners to openly discuss the most common errors encountered in data reduction and how these can affect the results obtained.
Aside from data quality, the workshop will also address the issue of data format standardisation and storage, discussing current proposals and the benefits that a uniform data format will ultimately bring to the user community. Finally, advances in data visualisation and data analysis will also be considered. Combined techniques will also be discussed.