Thinking About Measures and Measurement in Positivist Research: A Proposal for Refocusing on Fundamentals
挑战了实证研究中关于测量的两个常见假设，指出测量不仅适用于定量研究也适用于定性研究，并基于符号逻辑提出一个框架，帮助研究者评估测量工作，强调回归测量基础的重要性。
We challenge two taken-for-granted assumptions about measurement in positivist research. The first assumption is that measures and measurements are relevant for quantitative, but not qualitative, research. We explain why they apply to both types of research. The second assumption we challenge is that existing measurement practices are unproblematic, even if researchers sometimes vary in how well they enact them. We explain why current norms (both espoused and enacted) are deficient in some important ways because they fail to emphasize the fundamental issues of measures and measurements. Drawing on symbolic logic, we provide a framework to help positivist researchers to assess efforts in measuring and measurement regardless of their quantitative or qualitative orientation. The framework provides more parsimonious and broadly applicable guidance than available to date and suggests the need to refocus on measurement fundamentals. The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.2017.0704 .