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MEASUREMENT AND ITS HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Gedela, Naga Venkata Praveen babu
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1226037175

Abstract Details

2008, MS, Kent State University, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Computer Science.
Measurement is important in every field of science. It is easy to measure attributes in some fields of science and difficult in others. Software engineering is a field of science where measurement is heavily used. Many software metric models were designed for different phases of software engineering including requirements, design, coding, implementing, testing and maintenance. Well known researchers like Norman Fenton focused measurement research in software engineering on the representational theory of measurement. In representational measurement, we understand and collect data from empirical observations and arrange them in some logical fashion in terms of familiar mathematical structures. The reason researchers in software measurement are interested in measurement theory is they believe that measurement theory principles, which have for the most part been developed for measurement in physical sciences, can help produce good software metrics. Interestingly, it should be noted that the measurement ideas of Norman Campbell who was a “father” of modern measurement are not in complete agreement with the representation theory of measurement. According to representation measurement theory, the set of entities and the relations of a measurable attribute have to be similar to a set of numerals and their relations. In fact, they should be isomorphic with each other. Relations on a set of entities need to be experimentally demonstrated or theoretically justified. Unfortunately, users of software metrics often assume that every relation which exists on a set of numerals also exists on the set of entities. Said differently, the properties of the measurement values should reflect the properties of the set of entities and their relations. The relations on the set of numerals should be in complete agreement with set of entities and their relations. But in software measurement, software designers do not provide adequate attention to this requirement. Software measurements is different enough from measurement in other fields, including the physical sciences, that software measurement needs to develop a measurement theory which takes in account the needs, requirements and conditions of software measurement. My thesis analyzes different measurement methods and ideas from classical measurement theory and representational theory and analyzes different problems faced in software measurement.
Austin Melton, PhD (Advisor)
Johnnie W. Baker (Committee Member)
Michael Rothstein (Committee Member)
Computer Science
Software Measurement; program length; attributes; Measurement Theory

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Gedela, N. V. P. B. (2008). MEASUREMENT AND ITS HISTORICAL CONTEXT [Master's thesis, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1226037175

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Gedela, Naga Venkata Praveen babu. MEASUREMENT AND ITS HISTORICAL CONTEXT. 2008. Kent State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1226037175.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Gedela, Naga Venkata Praveen babu. "MEASUREMENT AND ITS HISTORICAL CONTEXT." Master's thesis, Kent State University, 2008. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1226037175

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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© 2008, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Kent State University and OhioLINK.