Metrology for the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences
National Sciences Foundation Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences White Paper, 2011
Posted: 29 Jan 2011 Last revised: 8 Feb 2011
Date Written: January 27, 2011
Abstract
A metrological infrastructure for the social, behavioral, and economic sciences has foundational and transformative potentials relating to education, health care, human and natural resource management, organizational performance assessment, and the economy at large. The traceability of universally uniform metrics to reference standards is a taken-for-granted essential component of the infrastructure of the natural sciences and engineering. Advanced measurement methods and models capable of supporting similar metrics, standards, and traceability for intangible forms of capital have been available for decades but have yet to be implemented in ways that take full advantage of their capacities. The economy, education, health care reform, and the environment are all now top national priorities. There is nothing more essential to succeeding in these efforts than the quality of the measures we develop and deploy. Even so, few, if any, of these efforts are taking systematic advantage of longstanding, proven measurement technologies that may be crucial to the scientific and economic successes we seek. Bringing these technologies to the attention of the academic and business communities for use, further testing, and development in new directions is an area of critical national need.
Keywords: Metrology, Uniform Metrics, Reference Standards, Measurement, Science, Economics, Capital, Traceability
JEL Classification: C51, C52, C81, C82, D23, E10, E66, H54, 021, 033, 038, P11
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation