Directness and Measurement

Andrich's contention (RMT 1990 4(3):101-102) that physical and social measurements are of equal directness is supported by this quotation from an authority of an earlier generation:

". . . all measurements are indirect in one sense or another. Not even simple physical measurements are direct, as the philosophically naive individual is likely to maintain. The physical weight of an object is customarily determined by watching a pointer on a scale. No one could truthfully say that he 'saw' the weight. . .

"It must be granted that, to measure such psychological attributes as appreciation of beauty, . . . we must depend upon secondary signs of these attributes. The secondary signs bear some functional relationship to the thing we wish to measure, just as the movement of a pointer on a scale is assumed to bear a functional relationship to the physical phenomenon under consideration. The functional relationship may be simpler and more dependable in the latter case than in the former and the type of relationship may be more obvious. That is the only logical difference. It is admittedly a difference of some practical consequence. But it is not a difference which lead to the conclusion that measurement is possible in the one case and impossible in the other."
Guilford, J. P., (1936), Psychometric Methods, McGraw-Hill, Inc., pp. 1-19.

Directness and Measurement, T Rehfeldt … Rasch Measurement Transactions, 1990, 4:3 p. 117

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Invariant Measurement: Using Rasch Models in the Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences, 2nd Edn. George Engelhard, Jr. & Jue Wang	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
Introduction to Many-Facet Rasch Measurement (Facets), Thomas Eckes	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	Appliquer le modèle de Rasch: Défis et pistes de solution (Winsteps) E. Dionne, S. Béland
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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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

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