Answer:
Modern philosophical discussions about measurement—spanning from the late nineteenth century to the present day—may be divided into several strands of scholarship. These strands reflect different perspectives on the nature of measurement and the conditions that make measurement possible and reliable. The main strands are mathematical theories of measurement, operationalism, conventionalism, realism, information-theoretic accounts and model-based accounts. These strands of scholarship do not, for the most part, constitute directly competing views. Instead, they are best understood as highlighting different and complementary aspects of measurement. The following is a very rough overview of these perspectives:
Mathematical theories of measurement view measurement as the mapping of qualitative empirical relations to relations among numbers (or other mathematical entities).
Operationalists and conventionalists view measurement as a set of operations that shape the meaning and/or regulate the use of a quantity-term.
Realists view measurement as the estimation of mind-independent properties and/or relations.
Information-theoretic accounts view measurement as the gathering and interpretation of information about a system.
Model-based accounts view measurement as the coherent assignment of values to parameters in a theoretical and/or statistical model of a process.
