Measuring social change - Assumptions, myths and realities

Measurement – of everything from the size of a particle to the health of economies – has become such an integral part of our approach to the world that we no longer question its value. We assume that it is a good thing, something that allows us to show in statistical form the changes taking place in more or less complex phenomena. This assumption has naturally entered the world of social change. Not only is it assumed that the processes, outcomes and impacts of social change should be assessed; it is also assumed that they can be assessed – in other words, that the instruments of measurement at our disposal are adequate and effective. More problematically, it is assumed that measurement enhances our ability to make or accelerate positive change.