ABSTRACT
In applied psychology, research is undertaken in order to understand psychological phenomena and build theoretical explanations about behaviour for the purpose of addressing practical, applied problems. If that research is to have any value or impact, then it is critical that we, like all scientists, employ careful measurement of those things (i.e., psychological phenomena, constructs, etc.) that we study. Although we are at an initial disadvantage compared to the physical sciences, because much of what we study is not tangible or directly observable, there are nevertheless strong methodological foundations for determining how and in what ways measurement in behavioural science should be conducted. In this chapter, these foundations are presented and discussed, along with relevant factors in deciding how to operationalize research to use the measurement instruments of applied psychology effectively.
