"Value of Measurement and Measurement of Value"

Dr. Anna Alexandrova, University of Cambridge

Abstract: Researchers in the social and medical sciences often study phenomena whose definition requires a value judgment about what is good, just, or healthy. How should they justify their decision to measure this phenomenon and the specific measures they adopt? No scientific expertise on its own supplies such a justification. A democratic approach would call for involvement of stakeholders with relevant expertise. I report on joint work with Mark Fabian and a UK anti-poverty charity Turn2us to implement inclusive practices for measurement of thriving. However, there are projects where such a participatory approach would not work and we thus need a broader set of principles, which I sketch.

 

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