Alexandrova, Anna and Fabian, Mark (2021) Democratising Measurement: or Why Thick Concepts Call for Coproduction. [Preprint]
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Abstract
Thick concepts, namely those concepts that describe and evaluate simultaneously, present a challenge to science. Since science does not have a monopoly on value judgments, what is responsible research involving such concepts? Using measurement of wellbeing as an example, we first present the options open to researchers wishing to study phenomena denoted by such concepts. We argue that while it is possible to treat these concepts as technical terms, or to make the relevant value judgment in-house, the responsible thing to do, especially in the context of public policy, is to make this value judgment through a legitimate political process that includes all the stakeholders of this research. We then develop a participatory model of measurement based on the ideal of co-production. To show that this model is feasible and realistic, we illustrate it with a case study of co-production of a concept of thriving conducted by the authors in collaboration with a UK anti-poverty charity Turn2us.
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Item Type: | Preprint | |||||||||
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Keywords: | measurement, thick concepts, coproduction, wellbeing, thriving | |||||||||
Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Economics General Issues > Science and Society General Issues > Science and Policy General Issues > Social Epistemology of Science General Issues > Values In Science |
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Depositing User: | Anna Alexandrova | |||||||||
Date Deposited: | 15 Dec 2021 03:08 | |||||||||
Last Modified: | 15 Dec 2021 03:08 | |||||||||
Item ID: | 20005 | |||||||||
Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Economics General Issues > Science and Society General Issues > Science and Policy General Issues > Social Epistemology of Science General Issues > Values In Science |
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Date: | 2021 | |||||||||
URI: | https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/20005 |
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