ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces some of the conceptual and methodological issues surrounding the rigorous measurement of such nebulous outcomes as the 'benefit' of an intervention - for example, handling museum objects, gazing at a work of art, participating in a therapeutic activity, etc. Many psychologists and social scientists have spent a great deal of time trying to measure somewhat vague, imprecise phenomena for a number of reasons, in a variety of contexts. Instruments for all of these applications have different approaches to measurement. The chapter focuses on thinking about the most suitable 'outcome measure', illustrating some of the key measurement issues with the example of the measurement of quality of life. In order to measure the 'value' of object handling, the researcher must first decide what to measure. The type of measurement approach used will depend on the goal of the study and the use to which the data will be put.
