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.

This dissertation encompasses three papers that touch on the topics of the definition of measurement, the possibility of ordinal measurement and the application of an ordinal psychometric model. The first paper, A Pragmatic Perspective on Measurement, addresses the issue of the definition of measurement, presenting a conceptualization of the practice of measurement from the perspective of the Pragmatic tradition in philosophy (Bacon, 2012; James, 1907/1995; Rorty, 1999). In the spirit that Pragmatic approach, this definition is put forward as a tool aimed at gauging measurement claims in terms of their usefulness, such that it can contribute to a better understanding between researchers, practitioners and users of measurement. The paper discusses central ideas of the Pragmatic tradition and reviews the main measurement traditions in the social sciences before making a case for a Pragmatic Perspective of Measurement and ordering a definition of measurement based on that approach. The proposed definition attempts to achieve this by bringing to the foreground a conception of measurement according to which: (a) order and classification are part of measurement as well as quantification, (b) the model of the attribute that underlies a measurement is central to designing and interpreting measurements, (c) attributes need not be considered as natural kinds or universals, and (d) the purpose for which the measurement was developed informs us about the scope of its utility, both to judge its success as well as limiting the inferences that can be supported by it. The second paper, Categorization, Ordering and Quantification: Selecting a Latent Variable Model by Comparing Latent Structures, is a joint work with Ronli Diakow that proposes a model selection framework for identifying the kind of latent structure-- classificatory, ordinal, or quantitative--that best describes a dataset. The framework and its rationale for successive comparison of models outlined in this paper offers a blue-print to directly addressing issues that so far are largely thought to only be examinable under the representational theory of measurement, namely, the empirical identification of ordinal and quantitative structure in an attribute. The possibility of analyzing them under a latent variable framework would allow the critical examination of the assumptions regarding the latent structure that can be supported based on the data and, more generally, to question and revise our assumptions regarding the structure that we ascribe to the relevant attributes that we study. The last paper builds on the previous papers--which present the arguments that measurement can be ordinal, and that it is possible to identify cases when a model that assumes an ordinal latent structure is better suited to a dataset-- by introducing The Ordered Mixture Linear Logistic Test Model (OM-LLTM), an explanatory item response theory model conceived for ordinal measurement. The OM-LLTM is a model suited to take advantage of the cases when we have a theory that describes a relevant attribute in terms of a set of ordered performance levels, and we construct our assessment instruments according to that theory. The OM-LLTM assumes respondents are grouped in ordered latent classes where the probability of correctly answering an assessment task is a function not only of the class membership of the respondent, but also of item features that--according to the theory--determine the difficulty of the task. This model is a combination of the Linear Logistic Test Model (LLTM; Fischer, 1973) and Ordered Latent Class Analysis (OLCA; Croon, 1990). The OM-LLTM can also be considered an ordered extension of the mixture LLTM developed by Mislevy and Verhelst (1990). The combination of these two models will allow researchers and practitioners to model student proficiency according to explanatory (De Boeck & Wilson, 2004) models expressed through the LLTM part of the model, while providing simple and interpretable results in terms of ranked performance groups, through the OLCA part of the model. Accordingly, the OM-LLTM offers both a simple, coarser, interpretation of the respondent classes according to overall proficiency and also an explanatory interpretation in terms of the specific item features; where the former interpretation lends itself for use in context where summative assessments are needed and the latter is more appropriate when diagnostic information is required.

Other books on information security metrics discuss number theory and statistics in academic terms. Light on mathematics and heavy on utility, PRAGMATIC Security Metrics: Applying Metametrics to Information Security breaks the mold. This is the ultimate how-to-do-it guide for security metrics.Packed with time-saving tips, the book offers easy-to-fo

Performance improvement thought leader Dean Spitzer explains why performance measurement should be less about calculations and analysis and more about the crucial social factors that determine how well the measurements get used. Transforming Performance Measurement presents a breakthrough approach that will not only significantly reduce those dysfunctions, but also promote alignment with business strategy, maximize cross-enterprise integration, and help everyone to work collaboratively to drive value throughout your organization. Spitzer’s "socialization of measurement" process focuses on learning and improvement from measurement, and on the importance of asking such questions as: How well do our measures reflect our business model? How successfully are they driving our strategy? What should we be measuring and not measuring? Are the right people having the right measurement discussions? Performance measurement is a dynamic process that calls for an awareness of the balance necessary between seemingly disparate ideas: the technical and the social aspects of performance measurement. This book gives you assessment tools to gauge where you are now and a roadmap for moving, with little or no disruption, to a more "transformational" and mature measurement system. The book also provides 34 TMAPs, Transformational Measurement Action Plans, which suggest both well-accepted and "emergent" measures (in areas such as marketing, human resources, customer service, knowledge management, productivity, information technology, research and development, costing, and more) that you can use right away. Transforming Performance Measurement tells you not only what to measure, but how to do it -- and in what context -- to make a truly transformational difference in your enterprise.

This Very Short Introduction explores the concept of measurement, its mathematical underpinnings, and its wide range of application from the sciences and social sciences to economics and commerce

This book brings together chapters on the semantics and pragmatics of measurement, scales, and numerical expressions. The chapters highlight recent developments in measurement theory, the meaning of numerical expressions and the relation between measurement scales and entailment scales. The authors provide explorations in formal and experimental semantics and pragmatics, as well as at the interfaces of this field with others including philosophy of language and sociolinguistics. This book will be of interest to students and scholars in these areas, as well as psychology, psycholinguistics and artificial intelligence.

Focusing on research designs for projects that collect both qualitative and quantitative data, this practical book discusses strategies for bringing qualitative and quantitative methods together so that their combined strengths accomplish more than is possible with a single method. The approach is broadly interdisciplinary, reflecting the interest in mixed methods research of social scientists from anthropology, communication, criminal justice, education, evaluation, nursing, organizational behavior, psychology, political science, public administration, public health, sociology, social work, and urban studies. In contrast to an "anything goes" approach or a naïve hope that "two methods are better than one," the author argues that projects using mixed methods must pay even more attention to research design than single method approaches. The book’s practical emphasis on mixed methods makes it useful both to active researchers and to students who intend to pursue such a career.

Validity is widely held to be the most important criterion for an assessment. Nevertheless, assessment professionals have disagreed about the meaning of validity almost from the introduction of the term as applied to testing about 100 years ago. Over the years, the best and brightest people in assessment have contributed their thinking to this problem and the fact that they have not agreed is testimony to the complexity and importance of validity. Even today, ways to define validity are being debated in the published literature in the assessment profession. How can such a fundamental concept be so controversial? This book brings focus to diverse perspectives about validity. Its chapter authors were chosen because of their expertise and because they differ from each other in the ways they think about the validity construct. Its introduction and ten chapters bridge both the theoretical and the practical. Contributors include most prominent names in the field of validity and their perspectives are at once cogent and controversial. From these diverse and well-informed discussions, the reader will gain a deep understanding of the core issues in validity along with directions toward possible resolutions. The debate that exists among these authors is a rich one that will stimulate the reader’s own understanding and opinion. Several chapters are oriented more practically. Ways to study validity are presented by professionals who blend current assessment practice with new suggestions for what sort of evidence to develop and how to generate the needed information. In addition they provide examples of some of the options on how to present the validity argument in the most effective ways. The initial chapter by the Editor is an effort to orient the reader as well as providing an overview of the book. Bob Lissitz has provided a brief perspective on each of the subsequent chapters as well as presenting a series of questions regarding validation that the reader will want to try to answer for themselves, as he or she reads through this book. This book’s topic is fundamental to assessment, its authors are distinguished, and its scope is broad. It deserves to become established as a fundamental reference on validity for years to come.

Historical and Conceptual Foundations of Measurement in the Human Sciences explores the assessment and measurement of nonphysical attributes that define human beings: abilities, personalities, attitudes, dispositions, and values. The proposition that human attributes are measurable remains controversial, as do the ideas and innovations of the six historical figures—Gustav Fechner, Francis Galton, Alfred Binet, Charles Spearman, Louis Thurstone, and S. S. Stevens—at the heart of this book. Across 10 rich, elaborative chapters, readers are introduced to the origins of educational and psychological scaling, mental testing, classical test theory, factor analysis, and diagnostic classification and to controversies spanning the quantity objection, the role of measurement in promoting eugenics, theories of intelligence, the measurement of attitudes, and beyond. Graduate students, researchers, and professionals in educational measurement and psychometrics will emerge with a deeper appreciation for both the challenges and the affordances of measurement in quantitative research.

Explores the language behaviour of speakers of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF), through the lens of Gricean pragmatics. It will be of interest to a wide range of scholars across the fields of pragmatics, language contact, world Englishes, second language acquisition, and English as a second language.