Science Outside the Laboratory: Measurement in Field Science and Economics

Boumans, Marcel

ISBN 10: 0199388288 / ISBN 13: 9780199388288

Published by OUP USA, 2015

About this Item

Social science experiments often cannot be analyzed under controlled conditions, as many take place outside a laboratory. None-the-less, measurement provides scientists with a sound basis for collecting and analyzing the results of field research. Num Pages: 216 pages, illustrations. BIC Classification: JHBC; KCA; KCHS; PBW. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 246 x 164 x 27. Weight in Grams: 422. . 2015. Illustrated. hardcover. . . . . Books ship from the US and Ireland.

Seller Inventory # V9780199388288

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Science Outside the Laboratory: Measurement in Field Science and Economics
• Publisher: OUP USA
• Publication Date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0199388288
• ISBN 13: 9780199388288
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

The conduct of most of social science occurs outside the laboratory. Such studies in field science explore phenomena that cannot for practical, technical, or ethical reasons be explored under controlled conditions. These phenomena cannot be fully isolated from their environment or investigated by manipulation or intervention. Yet measurement, including rigorous or clinical measurement, does provide analysts with a sound basis for discerning what occurs under field conditions, and why.

In Science Outside the Laboratory, Marcel Boumans explores the state of measurement theory, its reliability, and the role expert judgment plays in field investigations from the perspective of the philosophy of science. Its discussion of the problems of passive observation, the calculus of observation, the two-model problem, and model-based consensus uses illustrations drawn primarily from economics.

Rich in research and discussion, the volume clarifies the extent to which measurement provides valid information about objects and events in field sciences, but also has implications for measurement in the laboratory. Scholars in the fields of philosophy of science, social science, and economics will find Science Outside the Laboratory a compelling and informative read.

About the Author

Marcel Boumans is historian and philosopher of science at the University of Amsterdam and Erasmus University Rotterdam. His main research focus is on understanding empirical research practices in economics from a philosophy of science-in-practice perspective. He is particularly interested in the practices of measurement and modeling and the role of mathematics in social science.