A method for conducting a differential thermal analysis, in which a sample disposed in a temperable sample space is tempered according to an essentially linear temperature program extending from a start temperature to an end temperature, such that, from the result of a measurement of the sample temperature conducted during tempering at a number of measurement time points, a DTA signal is calculated as the difference between a measured sample temperature and a reference temperature calculated according to a temperature curve model. According to the invention, for every measurement time point, the relevant reference temperature is calculated by the following steps: (a) establish a time interval containing the relevant measurement time point; (b) calculate a non-linear adjustment function for the measured sample temperature curve in the time interval; and (c) calculate the reference temperature as a value of the adjustment function for the measurement time point.