Editing Measurement (section)

{{short description|Process of assigning numbers to objects or events}}
{{hatnote group|
{{for|the scientific journal|Measurement (journal){{!}}''Measurement'' (journal)}}
}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2014}}
[[File:FourMetricInstruments.JPG|thumb|upright|Four measuring devices having metric calibrations]]

'''Measurement''' is the [[quantification (science)|quantification]] of [[variable and attribute (research)|attribute]]s of an object or event, which can be used to compare with other objects or events.<ref name="pedhazur">{{cite book |last1 = Pedhazur |first1 = Elazar J. |last2 = Schmelkin  |first2 = Leora and Albert | title = Measurement, Design, and Analysis: An Integrated Approach |url = https://archive.org/details/measurementdesig00pedh |url-access = limited | edition=1st |publisher = Lawrence Erlbaum Associates |location = Hillsdale, NJ  |year = 1991 |isbn = 978-0-8058-1063-9  |pages=[https://archive.org/details/measurementdesig00pedh/page/n327 15]–29}}</ref><ref name="bipm">{{cite book | title = International Vocabulary of Metrology – Basic and General Concepts and Associated Terms (VIM) | year = 2008 | edition = 3rd | publisher = International Bureau of Weights and Measures | url = http://www.bipm.org/utils/common/documents/jcgm/JCGM_200_2008.pdf | page = 16}}</ref>
In other words, measurement is a process of determining how large or small a [[physical quantity]] is as compared to a basic reference quantity of the same kind.<ref name="Young and Freedman University Physics">{{cite book |last1=Young |first1=Hugh D |last2=Freedman |first2=Roger A. |title=University Physics |date=2012 |publisher=Pearson Education Inc. |isbn=978-0-321-69686-1 |edition=13}}</ref>
The scope and application of measurement are dependent on the context and discipline. In [[natural science]]s and [[engineering]], measurements do not apply to [[Level of measurement#Nominal level|nominal properties]] of objects or events, which is consistent with the guidelines of the [[International Vocabulary of Metrology]] (VIM) published by the [[International Bureau of Weights and Measures]] (BIPM).<ref name="bipm" /> However, in other fields such as [[statistics]] as well as the [[Social Sciences|social]] and [[behavioural sciences]], measurements can have [[Level of measurement|multiple levels]], which would include nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio scales.<ref name="pedhazur" /><ref name="Koch 2008">{{cite encyclopedia | editor-last = Kirch | editor-first = Wilhelm | title = Level of measurement | encyclopedia = Encyclopedia of Public Health  | volume = 2  | pages = 81  | publisher = Springer  | date = 2008 | isbn = 978-0-321-02106-9 }}</ref>

Measurement is a cornerstone of [[trade]], [[science]], [[technology]] and [[quantitative research]] in many disciplines. Historically, many [[system of measurement|measurement systems]] existed for the varied fields of human existence to facilitate comparisons in these fields. Often these were achieved by local agreements between trading partners or collaborators. Since the 18th century, developments progressed towards unifying, widely accepted standards that resulted in the modern [[International System of Units]] (SI). This system reduces all physical measurements to a mathematical combination of seven base units. The science of measurement is pursued in the field of [[metrology]].

Measurement is defined as the process of comparison of an unknown quantity with a known or standard quantity.