Measurement: A Very Short Introduction

Measurementisafundamentalconceptthatunderpinsalmosteveryaspectofthemodernworld.Itiscentraltothesciences,socialsciences,medicine,andeconomics,butitaffectseverydaylife.Wemeasureeverything-fromthedistanceoffar-offgalaxiestothetemperatureoftheair,levelsofrisk,politicalmajorities,taxes,bloodpressure,IQ,andweight.Thehistoryofmeasurementgoesbacktotheancientworld,anditsstoryhasbeenoneofgradualstandardization.Todaytherearedifferenttypesofmeasurement,levelsofaccuracy,andsystemsofunits,appliedindifferentcontexts.Measurementinvolvesnotionsofvariability,accuracy,reliability,anderror,andchallengessuchasthemeasurementofextremevalues.InthisVeryShortIntroduction,DavidHandexplainsthecommonmathematicalframeworkunderlyingallmeasurement,themainapproachestomeasurement,andthechallengesinvolved.Followingabriefhistoricalaccountofmeasurement,hediscussesmeasurementasusedinthephysicalsciencesandengineering,thelifesciencesandmedicine,thesocialandbehaviouralsciences,economics,business,andpublicpolicy.ABOUTTHESERIES:TheVeryShortIntroductionsseriesfromOxfordUniversityPresscontainshundredsoftitlesinalmosteverysubjectarea.Thesepocket-sizedbooksaretheperfectwaytogetaheadinanewsubjectquickly.Ourexpertauthorscombinefacts,analysis,perspective,newideas,andenthusiasmtomakeinterestingandchallengingtopicshighlyreadable.,