Measurement across the Sciences

Developing a Shared Concept System for Measurement

Luca Mari, Mark Wilson, Andrew Maul (Autoren)

Buch | Hardcover

XXXV, 279 Seiten

2021 | 1st ed. 2021
Springer International Publishing (Verlag)
978-3-030-65557-0 (ISBN)

Infos

lt;p>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.

Autor

lt;p>Luca Mari is a professor of Measurement Science at Università Carlo Cattaneo - LIUC, Castellanza, Italy, where he teaches courses on measurement science, statistical data analysis, and systems theory. Internationally, he is chair of the TC 1 (Terminology) and the secretary of the TC 25 (Quantities and units) of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and an IEC expert in the WG2 (VIM) of the Joint Committee for Guides in Metrology (JCGM). In Italy, he chairs the Technical Committee CEI 1/25 "Terminologia, grandezze e unità" of the Comitato Elettrotecnico Italiano (CEI) and is chair of the Technical Commission UNI-CEI 500 "Metrologia". His research activities focus on fundamental topics of measurement science and its relations to information science and technology, systems theory, information systems, and eLearning. Dr. Mari received the Ph.D. from the Polytechnic of Torino, Italy in 1994.

Mark Wilson is a professor of Education at the University of California, Berkeley, and also at the University of Melbourne. His interests focus on measurement and applied statistics, and he has published over 100 refereed articles in those areas, and over 50 invited chapters. He was elected president of the Psychometric Society, also of the US National Council for Measurement in Education (NCME). He is also a Member of the US National Academy of Education, a Fellow of the American Educational Research Association, and a National Associate of the US National Research Council. He is Director of the Berkeley Evaluation and Assessment Research (BEAR) Center. His research interests focus on the development and application of sound approaches for measurement in education and the human sciences, the development of statistical models suitable for measurement contexts, the creation of instruments to measure new constructs, and scholarship on the philosophy of measurement. Dr. Wilson received his PhD degree from the University of Chicago in 1984. 

Andrew Maul is a professor of Education at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His work integrates lines of inquiry traditionally associated with statistics, philosophy, psychology, and history, with the aim of improving the quality of methodological practices in the human sciences, and in particular the theory and practice of measurement. Dr. Maul received his Ph.D. in 2008 from the University of California, Berkeley. He regularly teaches courses on the construction and validation of measuring instruments, item response theory, and the philosophy of measurement, as well as introductory and advanced research methods and applied statistics.

Inhalt

lt;p>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. 

Produkt-Details

• Erscheinungsdatum: 30.03.2021
• Reihe/Serie: Springer Series in Measurement Science and Technology
• Zusatzinfo: XXXV, 279 p. 72 illus., 64 illus. in color.
• Verlagsort: Cham
• Sprache: englisch
• Maße: 155 x 235 mm
• Gewicht: 686 g
• Themenwelt: Mathematik / Informatik ► Informatik ► Theorie / Studium
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Physik / Astronomie
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie ► Empirische Sozialforschung
• Schlagworte: Data-driven Science, Modeling and Theory Building • open access • Performance Management • Performance Measurement • Philosophy of measurement • Physical and mental measurement • Physical and non-physical measurment • Physical and Social Measurement • Psychometrics
• ISBN-10: 3-030-65557-1 / 3030655571
• ISBN-13: 978-3-030-65557-0 / 9783030655570
• Zustand: Neuware