A Pragmatic Perspective of Measurement (eBook)

This book aims to address the challenges of defining measurement in social sciences, presenting a conceptualization of the practice of measurement from the perspective of the pragmatic tradition in philosophy.

The book reviews key questions regarding the scope and limits of measurement, emphasizing that if the trust that the public places on mea­sures in the social sciences relies on their connection to the notion of measurement in the physical sciences, then the clarification of the similarities and differences between measurement in the physical and the social realms is of central importance to adequately contextualize their relative advantages and limitations. It goes on to present some of the most influential theories of measurement such as the 'classical view' of measurement, operationalism, and the representational theory of measurement, as well as more methodological perspectives arising from the practice of researchers in the social sciences, such as the latent variable perspective, and from the physical sciences and engineering, represented by metrology. This overview illustrates that the concept of measurement, and that of quantitative methods, is currently being used across the board in ways that do not necessarily conform to traditional, classical definitions of measurement, pushing the boundaries of what constitutes our technical understanding of it. Moreover, what constitutes a technical understanding of measurement, and the theoretical commitments that it entails, must vary in different areas. In this context, disagreement on what is constitutive of measurement is bound to appear.

Pragmatism is presented as a theoretical perspective that offers the advantage of being flexible and fallibilist, encouraging us to abandon the pursuit of a timeless and perfect definition that attempts to establish decontextualized/definitive demarcation criteria for what is truly measurement.

This book will be of particular interest for psychologists and other human and social scientists, and more concretely for scholars interested in measurement and assessment in psychological and social measurement. The pragmatic perspective of measurement presents a conceptual framework for researchers to ground their assessment practices acknowledging and dealing with the challenges of social measurement.

 

David Torres Irribarra is a psychologist with a Ph.D. in Education from the University of California, Berkeley.

David began his work in assessments as a researcher and analyst in Chile's national teacher assessment programmes. His doctoral studies focused on the theoretical foundations behind the use of statistical models in social science measurement, particularly the use of item response theory in educational contexts. David has previously worked as the Information Technologies Director of the Berkeley Evaluation and Assessment Research (BEAR) Center, and as a part of his work in the area of educational measurement David has worked on research projects and consultancies in Chile, Honduras, Peru, Mexico and the United States.

David is currently an assistant professor at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and serves as a member of the academic board of directors of the MIDE measurement center. His main research areas are (i) the application of latent variable models to measurement contexts, (ii) the theoretical foundations of measurement in the social sciences, and (iii) the use of digital technologies to improve educational assessment.