[en] The results are presented of a series of experiments investigating effects which may influence the data from ionisation-based dust impact detectors. After a brief review of dust detection techniques and methods of laboratory dust acceleration, experimental work is described in which the effects of dust impacts at oblique angles, secondary ionisation from side-wall ricochets and the contribution to ionisation from particle charge are studied. The experimental work was performed using the 2MV Van de Graaff accelerator facility at the University of Kent at Canterbury. To investigate the angular effect on ionisation signal, iron dust particles with velocities of 1-75 km s^-1 were impacted onto a gold target at angles of 0 deg, 40 deg, 60 deg and 80 deg. No effect was observed for angles of 60 deg or less, but some variation was present in the 80 deg case. The effect of secondary ionisation from side-wall ricochets was investigated by impacting iron dust particles on to a gold target at 15 deg, 30 deg and 75 deg and measuring any ionisation signal on a nearby aluminium target. It was found that ionisation signals were frequently produced at the secondary target, and that these were very similar in appearance to signals from direct impacts. Two experiments were performed to study the influence of particle charge on impact ionisation. In the first, charged spheres with velocities of only a few m s^-1 were dropped on to a replica of the Gorid dust detector, and any ionisation signal was measured. It was found that ionisation signals were frequently detected during these impacts. In the second experiment, iron dust particles were accelerated on to a gold target and had their charge reduced by passing through a thin film. It was found that the ionisation signal was slightly reduced in the charge-stripped case. The measured shifts in ionisation signal due to the three effects were applied to sample mass and velocity data collected by the Gorid dust detector. The oblique impact effect caused a downward shift of an order of magnitude in the mass distribution, and an upward shift of a factor of two in the velocity distribution. The side-wall impact effect caused a downward shift of around three orders of magnitude in the mass distribution, and an upward shift of a factor of five m the velocity distribution. The particle charge effects produced a downward shift of 30% in the mass distribution, and did not alter the velocity distribution. It is concluded that the data from ionisation-based dust detectors will be influenced by these effects, and that future analysis should bear them in mind. (author)