13
so that an element of probability must be introduced in order to better model the
situation. In fact, one way to do so is illustrated in Fig. 1.3, where the indication is
given in terms of a probability. How this can be done is described in Sect. 7.3.5.
1.3 The path we will travel in this book
As we say above, in this book we are seeking a conceptualization of that can encompass evaluation of both physical and psychosocial properties,
and of both quantitative and nonquantitative properties. In doing so, we require that
this conceptualization is specific enough to account for the acknowledged epistemic
authority of measurement, which is a critical part of its importance.
We start our story proper in Chap. 2, where we seek to identify a basic set of conditions necessary for measurement, which we hypothesize to be acceptable for many, if
not all, researchers and practitioners across a wide range of fields of application of
measurement. Chapter 2 concludes with a statement that summarizes those conditions:
measurement is an empirical and informational process, designed on purpose, whose input
is an empirical property of an object and that produces information in the form of values of
that property
In Chap. 3 we will add to this position three key additional points. First, we stipulate
that measurement results should include information about the quality of the
reported values, though we acknowledge that sometimes this is neglected in nonscientific situations. Formerly, this has been considered in reference to measurement
errors, but, in contemporary measurement, it is more usually characterized in terms
of uncertainty and validity, in physical and psychosocial measurement, respectively.
Second, as inherited from the Euclidean tradition, when we report measured values, we are providing a relational form of information—the ratio of the measured
property to the chosen unit, in quantitative cases. To do so requires that there is
broad social availability of a metrological system that disseminates the reference
properties by the usual means of measurement standards connected through traceability chains. This means that measurement requires calibration.
Fig. 1.3 A sketch of a transduction relationship between an RCA measurand (in log metric)
and the probability of observing a correct response
1.3 The path we will travel in this book
so that an element of probability must be introduced in order to better model the
situation. In fact, one way to do so is illustrated in Fig. 1.3, where the indication is
given in terms of a probability. How this can be done is described in Sect. 7.3.5.
1.3 The path we will travel in this book
As we say above, in this book we are seeking a conceptualization of
and of both quantitative and nonquantitative properties. In doing so, we require that
this conceptualization is specific enough to account for the acknowledged epistemic
authority of measurement, which is a critical part of its importance.
We start our story proper in Chap. 2, where we seek to identify a basic set of conditions necessary for measurement, which we hypothesize to be acceptable for many, if
not all, researchers and practitioners across a wide range of fields of application of
measurement. Chapter 2 concludes with a statement that summarizes those conditions:
measurement is an empirical and informational process, designed on purpose, whose input
is an empirical property of an object and that produces information in the form of values of
that property
In Chap. 3 we will add to this position three key additional points. First, we stipulate
that measurement results should include information about the quality of the
reported values, though we acknowledge that sometimes this is neglected in nonscientific situations. Formerly, this has been considered in reference to measurement
errors, but, in contemporary measurement, it is more usually characterized in terms
of uncertainty and validity, in physical and psychosocial measurement, respectively.
Second, as inherited from the Euclidean tradition, when we report measured values, we are providing a relational form of information—the ratio of the measured
property to the chosen unit, in quantitative cases. To do so requires that there is
broad social availability of a metrological system that disseminates the reference
properties by the usual means of measurement standards connected through traceability chains. This means that measurement requires calibration.
Fig. 1.3 A sketch of a transduction relationship between an RCA measurand (in log metric)
and the probability of observing a correct response
1.3 The path we will travel in this book