A review of several statistical methods that are currently in use for outlier identification is presented, and their performances are compared theoretically for typical statistical distributions of experimental data, considering values derived from the distribution of extreme order statistics as reference terms. A simple modification of a popular, broadly used method based upon box-plot is introduced, in order to overcome a major limitation concerning sample size. Examples are presented concerning exploitation of methods considered on two data sets: a historical one concerning evaluation of an astronomical constant performed by a number of leading observatories and a substantial database pertaining to an ongoing investigation on absolute measurement of gravity acceleration, exhibiting peculiar aspects concerning outliers. Some problems related to outlier treatment are examined, and the requirement of both statistical analysis and expert opinion for proper outlier management is underlined.exclusion rules, order statistics, outliers, robust statistics, statistical test,

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3D-SEM is a method, based on the stereophotogrammetry technique, which obtains three-dimensional topographic reconstructions starting typically from two SEM images, called the stereo-pair. In this work, a theoretical uncertainty evaluation of the stereo-pair technique, according to GUM (Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement), was carried out, considering 3D-SEM reconstructions of a wire gauge with a reference diameter of 250 µm. Starting from the more commonly used tilting strategy, one based on the item rotation inside the SEM chamber was also adopted. The latter enables multiple-view reconstructions of the cylindrical item under consideration. Uncertainty evaluation was performed starting from a modified version of the Piazzesi equation, enabling the calculation of the z-coordinate from a given stereo-pair. The metrological characteristics of each input variable have been taken into account and a SEM stage calibration has been performed. Uncertainty tables for the cases of tilt and rotation were then produced, leading to the calculation of expanded uncertainty. For the case of rotation, the largest uncertainty contribution resulted to be the rotational angle; however, for the case of tilt it resulted to be the pixel size. A relative expanded uncertainty equal to 5% and 4% was obtained for the case of rotation and tilt, respectively.