1
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
L. Mari et al., Measurement across the Sciences, Springer Series in
Measurement Science and Technology,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-65558-7_1
Chapter 1
Introduction
1.1 Why we wrote this book
It would be difficult to overstate the value and importance of measurement in nearly
every aspect of society. Every time we purchase or eat food, take prescribed medicine, travel in a vehicle, use a phone or computer, or step inside a building, we place
our trust in the results of measureme—and, for the most part, that trust seems well
earned, and as such measurement is commonly associated with precision, accuracy,
and overall trustworthiness. Against this backdrop, it seems little wonder that the
human sciences
1
have, since their inception, attempted to incorporate measurement
into their activities as well. However, despite—or perhaps, to at least some extent,
because of—the ubiquity of measurement-related concepts and discourse, there
remains a remarkable lack of shared understanding of these concepts across (and
often within) different fields, perhaps most visibly reflected in the vast array of proposed definitions of measurement itself. In addition to hampering communication
across different disciplinary fields regarding shared methodological principles, such
a lack of common understanding hints at the possibility that the same terms—
“measurement”, “measurement result”, “measurement model”, etc.—are used with
very different and possibly even incompatible meanings in different disciplines,
with potentially disastrous results.
Of course, measurement is not a natural entity, preexisting and waiting to be
discovered; rather, measurement is designed and performed on purpose. Hence, in
attempting to define or characterize measurement, we inevitably must attend to
1 We use the term “human sciences” to refer to all scientific disciplines and activities concerned
with the human mind and behavior, including not only psychology, but also sociology, anthropology, and disciplines of research concerned with particular activities such as education, health and
medicine, economics, and organizations. Thus, the term is interpreted analogously with the term
“physical sciences”, which refers to not only physics but also other disciplines concerned with
physical phenomena, such as chemistry, biology, geology, and astronomy.
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
L. Mari et al., Measurement across the Sciences, Springer Series in
Measurement Science and Technology,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-65558-7_1
Chapter 1
Introduction
1.1 Why we wrote this book
It would be difficult to overstate the value and importance of measurement in nearly
every aspect of society. Every time we purchase or eat food, take prescribed medicine, travel in a vehicle, use a phone or computer, or step inside a building, we place
our trust in the results of measureme—and, for the most part, that trust seems well
earned, and as such measurement is commonly associated with precision, accuracy,
and overall trustworthiness. Against this backdrop, it seems little wonder that the
human sciences
1
have, since their inception, attempted to incorporate measurement
into their activities as well. However, despite—or perhaps, to at least some extent,
because of—the ubiquity of measurement-related concepts and discourse, there
remains a remarkable lack of shared understanding of these concepts across (and
often within) different fields, perhaps most visibly reflected in the vast array of proposed definitions of measurement itself. In addition to hampering communication
across different disciplinary fields regarding shared methodological principles, such
a lack of common understanding hints at the possibility that the same terms—
“measurement”, “measurement result”, “measurement model”, etc.—are used with
very different and possibly even incompatible meanings in different disciplines,
with potentially disastrous results.
Of course, measurement is not a natural entity, preexisting and waiting to be
discovered; rather, measurement is designed and performed on purpose. Hence, in
attempting to define or characterize measurement, we inevitably must attend to
1 We use the term “human sciences” to refer to all scientific disciplines and activities concerned
with the human mind and behavior, including not only psychology, but also sociology, anthropology, and disciplines of research concerned with particular activities such as education, health and
medicine, economics, and organizations. Thus, the term is interpreted analogously with the term
“physical sciences”, which refers to not only physics but also other disciplines concerned with
physical phenomena, such as chemistry, biology, geology, and astronomy.