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This book proposes a conceptual framework for understanding measurement across a broad range of scientific fields and areas of application, such as physics, engineering, education, and psychology. The authors, who themselves span these disciplines, argue that the justification of the public trust attributed to measurement results can in principle apply identically to both physical and psychosocial properties. They further argue that the lack of a common conceptualization of measurement hampers interdisciplinary communication and limits the ability to share knowledge. They advance their views by first surveying the conceptual history of the philosophy of measurement and arguing that classical, operationalist and representational perspectives on measurement each make important contributions but also each have important shortcomings. A synthesis is then offered as the foundation for a new conceptual framework. The authors describe how the framework, which operates as a shared concept system, supports understanding measurement's work in different domains, using examples in the physical and human sciences. They consider connections and consequences with respect to causality, objectivity, and intersubjectivity, among other topics, and how measurement science concepts and issues are construed across these disciplines and settings. They also address contemporary issues and controversies within measurement in the light of the framework, including operationalism, definitional uncertainty, and the relations between measurement and computation. The book concludes with a justification for the basic claim that measurement is an empirical and informational process that produces explicitly justifiable information.

Researchers and academics across a wide range of disciplines including biological, physical, social and behavioral scientists, as well as specialists in measurement and philosophy will appreciate the work's fresh and provocative approach to the field at a time when sound measurements of complex scientific systems are increasingly essential to solving critical global problems.

Measurement across the Sciences: Developing a Shared Concept System for Measurement

Part I: Introduction

           Chapter 1: Motivation

                                Measurement across the sciences

                                What constitutes "good" measurement?

                                Developing a common vocabulary

           Chapter 2: Basic concepts in measurement  

                                A black-box characterization of measurement

                                Vocabulary for measurement

                                The goals of measurement

                                Measurement uncertainty

                Chapter 3: History of measurement

                                A brief history of measurement in the physical sciences

                                A brief history of measurement in the social sciences

                Chapter 4: A historical overview of philosophical perspectives on measurement

                                Operationalist perspectives

                                Representational perspectives

                                Pragmatist perspectives

                                Realist perspectives

                                Points of agreement, disagreement, and incommensurability

 

Part II: A new integrated concept system for measurement

            Chapter 5: A meta-structural understanding of measurement

                                Model-based approaches to measurement                   

                                A structured methodology for measurement development

                Chapter 6: An epistemology of measurement

                                Measurement in the context of general theories of epistemology

                                A pragmatist-realist perspective on measurement        

                                Objectivity and (inter)subjectivity

                                How does one justify the dependability of a measurement?                    

Chapter 7: Measurand definitions and definitional uncertainty

                                Defining measurands

                                Examples of definitional uncertainty from various domains

                                The historical importance of definitional uncertainty

                                A pragmatic realist approach to definitional uncertainty

           Chapter 8: Measurement across the sciences

                                Measurement of physical properties

                                Measurement of psychological properties

                                Measurement of societal properties  

                                Comparing measurement concepts and issues across contexts

 

Part III: Controversies and Issues

           Chapter 9: Measurement in psychology: the legacy of operationalism

                                An example of contemporary measurement practice in psychology

                                The advantages of operationalism

                                The disadvantages of operationalism

                                Moving a discipline beyond operationalism

           Chapter 10: Big data

                                A brief description of big data and data analytics

                                Critique of data analytics from a measurement point of view

                                Empirical example

           Chapter 11: The role of human beings within measurement

 The roles of different actors/subjects who design and/or interact with the measurement system

 A pragmatic-realist approach to feedback loops and interactions

                Chapter 12: Scaling

                                Types of property evaluation

                                Quantities and quantification

                                Classification and measurement

 

Part IV: Conclusion

           Chapter 13: Prospects for the future

                                Measurement across complex networks of actors

                                Measurement in industry, commerce, and society

                                The role of measurement in science.