To know and understand the purposes of verification

To know the factors which affect the design and interpretation of verification methods and results

This module is intended to be used by either: 1. A student who is presented with the results of forecast verification, and wishes to understand what they mean, or 2. A student who is seeking a method to verify his own forecasts. This introductory module includes general discussions of the reasons for verification and introduces the general principles of verification. It also serves as a guide to the other modules of the course by introducing a general classification of verification methods based on the type of forecast. A student who is new to verification methods should complete this module first.

A motivation either to understand the meaning of verification results or to select an appropriate verification method