Conference Report: "Epistemology of Measurement"

On May 6, 2003 a thematic 'Conference' on the Epistemology of Measurement in the Social Sciences : Contemporary Perspectives was organized at the Institute of History and Philosophy of Science and Technique, Paris, France. At IHPST the concerns with the epistemology of social sciences are multifaceted. The May 6 conference was concerned with the family of measurement models familiar to the readers of Rasch Measurement Transactions.

David Andrich (Murdoch University, Australia) gave a paper on Recognizing problems after they are solved in the construction of models of measurement in the social sciences. He showed us, in reference to Kuhn's work, that various measurement problems in the social sciences were recognized as problems after their solution was derived. This required insights and recognition of the implications of the models, but the models were not constructed with the solution to those problems in mind. Indeed, He suggested that the problems could not have been solved if it was set out to solve them.

Joel Michell (University of Sydney University, Australia) gave a paper on The theory of additive conjoint measurement and the Rasch model. His point was that although the relationship between the Rasch model for psychometric measurement and the theory of additive conjoint measurement has been recognized since the 1970s, surprisingly little attention has been given to the issue of testing the hierarchy of conjoint measurement cancellation conditions in the Rasch context and in particular the contrast between the following three issues: (1) the information that each of these cancellation conditions supplies about the structure of the ability & difficulty attributes, (2) the empirical content they each possess, and (3) the a priori probability of falsifying them in the Rasch context.

William Fisher (Metametrics Inc., Durham, NC, USA) gave a paper on The metaphysics of measurement : Toward a hermeneutic-mathematical methodological continuum. He suggested that we could understand the role of measuring instruments in the social sciences as some kind of text production. From this he presented his own theory of measurement's objectivity taking into account some of the post modernist criticism, in reference to Latour, while enabling to understand the character both conventional and objective of measurement in its relation to experiment. He also outlined some metaphysical implications of this understanding.

Trevor Bond (James Cook University, Australia) setting the tone for the discussion, gave a paper on The Rasch model and the progress of science. He provided wide ranging perspectives on the uses of the family of Rasch models in the social sciences and their consequences along with insights on the difficulties and snags of their applications and dissemination.

Philippe Lemoigne (CNRS-Paris 5 University, France) Opened the discussion with the following question: why is measurement, on the one hand, very much developed in the social sciences and on the other hand somewhat blind to questions related to the metrical character of the data ? He analyzed several examples from clinical psychology and psychiatry where he thinks this dilemma is especially salient.

Alain Leplège Institut d'Histoire et de Philosophie des Sciences et des Techniques, Paris & Département de Philosophie, Université d'Amiens, France.

Conference Report: Epistemology of Measurement. Alain Leplège … Rasch Measurement Transactions, 2003, 17:1, 908

Rasch-Related Resources: Rasch Measurement YouTube Channel
Rasch Measurement Transactions & Rasch Measurement research papers - free	An Introduction to the Rasch Model with Examples in R (eRm, etc.), Debelak, Strobl, Zeigenfuse	Rasch Measurement Theory Analysis in R, Wind, Hua	Applying the Rasch Model in Social Sciences Using R, Lamprianou	El modelo métrico de Rasch: Fundamentación, implementación e interpretación de la medida en ciencias sociales (Spanish Edition), Manuel González-Montesinos M.
Rasch Models: Foundations, Recent Developments, and Applications, Fischer & Molenaar	Probabilistic Models for Some Intelligence and Attainment Tests, Georg Rasch	Rasch Models for Measurement, David Andrich	Constructing Measures, Mark Wilson	Best Test Design - free, Wright & Stone Rating Scale Analysis - free, Wright & Masters
Virtual Standard Setting: Setting Cut Scores, Charalambos Kollias	Diseño de Mejores Pruebas - free, Spanish Best Test Design	A Course in Rasch Measurement Theory, Andrich, Marais	Rasch Models in Health, Christensen, Kreiner, Mesba	Multivariate and Mixture Distribution Rasch Models, von Davier, Carstensen
Rasch Books and Publications: Winsteps and Facets
Applying the Rasch Model (Winsteps, Facets) 4th Ed., Bond, Yan, Heene	Advances in Rasch Analyses in the Human Sciences (Winsteps, Facets) 1st Ed., Boone, Staver	Advances in Applications of Rasch Measurement in Science Education, X. Liu & W. J. Boone	Rasch Analysis in the Human Sciences (Winsteps) Boone, Staver, Yale	Appliquer le modèle de Rasch: Défis et pistes de solution (Winsteps) E. Dionne, S. Béland
Introduction to Many-Facet Rasch Measurement (Facets), Thomas Eckes	Rasch Models for Solving Measurement Problems (Facets), George Engelhard, Jr. & Jue Wang	Statistical Analyses for Language Testers (Facets), Rita Green	Invariant Measurement with Raters and Rating Scales: Rasch Models for Rater-Mediated Assessments (Facets), George Engelhard, Jr. & Stefanie Wind	Aplicação do Modelo de Rasch (Português), de Bond, Trevor G., Fox, Christine M
Exploring Rating Scale Functioning for Survey Research (R, Facets), Stefanie Wind	Rasch Measurement: Applications, Khine	Winsteps Tutorials - free Facets Tutorials - free	Many-Facet Rasch Measurement (Facets) - free, J.M. Linacre	Fairness, Justice and Language Assessment (Winsteps, Facets), McNamara, Knoch, Fan

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