ABSTRACT
Recall from Section 2.1.1 that measurement is defined as the “process of experimentally obtaining one or more quantity values that can reasonably be attributed to a quantity.”1 Many naively believe this to be a more-or-less mechanical process, whereby a measurement is performed and out pops a result that conveys a measurand’s value. We have seen, however, that for a measurement to be metrologically sound, there is a lot that must be considered, both leading up to and during its performance. Turning a measured result into knowledge-that is, a justified belief concerning the quantity value of a measurand-requires careful consideration of the entirety of this metrological framework. Before we try to interpret what a result tells us about a measurand’s value, then, we need to determine how this framework shapes the conclusions that are supported by a given result.
