Robson, RobertNicoletopoulos, PLi, BoWhite, Ronald Douglas2015-12-100963-0252http://hdl.handle.net/1885/50565Since the 1950s there has been great progress in the fundamental kinetic theory of charged particles (electrons, positrons, muons and ions) in gases, but many of the ideas and results have still to find their way into modern low temperature plasma physics. This paper stresses the bigger picture, in the context of the kinetic theory of gases and fluid modelling, with a view to reconciling the plasma and swarm literature. We focus especially on the importance of a unified approach to transport analysis, appropriate to all types of charged particles in all situations. We discuss both plasmas and swarms in general, and make recommendations for 'best practice' in both kinetic theoretical and fluid modelling.Keywords: Fluid mechanics; High energy physics; Kinetic theory; Plasma density; Transport properties; Fluid modeling; Low temperature plasma physics; Transport analysis; Charged particles200810.1088/0963-0252/17/2/0240202015-12-09