Theory precedes measurement

"In text books, the numbers that result from measurements usually appear as the archetypes of the `irreducible and stubborn facts' to which the scientist must, by struggle, make his theories conform. But in scientific practice, as seen through the journal literature, the scientist often seems rather to be struggling with the facts, trying to force them to conformity with a theory he does not doubt. Quantitative facts cease to seem simply the `given'. They must be fought for and with, and in this fight the theory with which they are to be compared proves the most potent weapon."

"Often scientists cannot get numbers that compare well with theory until they know what numbers they should be making nature yield... To the extent that measurement and quantitative technique play an especially significant role in scientific discovery, they do so precisely because, by displaying serious anomaly, they tell scientists when and where to look for a new qualitative phenomenon... The road from scientific law to scientific measurement can rarely be traveled in the reverse direction." (Thomas Kuhn, 1961, p.193-219, emphasis his).

It is this almost impassable road from "measurement" to law that social scientists attempt to travel by modeling available data - that is, by trying to find models that will account for the data as they appear. In this relentless pursuit, the social scientist bypasses one of the main functions of scientific measurement, the identification of anomalies.

David Andrich
Murdoch University, Australia


"Scientific truths, of whatever order, are reached by eliminating perturbing or conflicting factors, and recognizing only fundamental factors."
Herbert Spencer (1879) The Data of Ethics

"A hypothesis has met its supreme test when it solves not only the problem it was designed to cover, but also the cognate problems that arise during further investigation."
Odell Shepard (1923) "A Youth to Fortune and to Fame Unknown", Modern Philology, 20, 372

Hence the success of Newton and Rasch, and the failure of Ptolemy of Alexandria and the proponents of ordinal measurement.

Theory precedes measurement.Andrich D.A. … Rasch Measurement Transactions, 1998, 12:2 p. 627-9.




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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