A Theory of Measurement

Cartwright, Nancy; Bradburn, Norman M.; Fuller, Jonathan

Abstract

This paper discusses basic issues about the nature of measurement for concepts in the social sciences and medicine, introducing a three-stage theory of measurement. In science and policy investigations we study quantities and qualities (or quality/quantity concepts)1 and their relations in order to understand and predict the behavior of individuals/tokens displaying those quantities or falling under those concepts. What does it mean to measure a quantity (e.g. body size) or to assign a concept or category (e.g. ‘underweight’) to a token? In medicine, as throughout natural and social science, measurement is not just assigning categories or numbers; it is assigning values in a systematic and grounded way. This involves applying some well-grounded metric representing the quantity (e.g. body mass index (BMI)) to the token.

• Working Paper Type: Working Paper
• Publication Date: Sep 1, 2016
• Deposit Date: Oct 19, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 21, 2016
• Series Title: CHESS Working Papers
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1169396
• Publisher URL: https://www.dur.ac.uk/chess/chessworkingpapers/