On Defining Subjective and Objective Measurements

The adjectives “objective” and “subjective” frequently precede the noun “measurement,” but all too often the terms are used without precision. Kerlinger has described objective measurements in terms of reliability. He states, “An objective procedure is one in which agreement among observers is at maximum. In variance terms, observer variance is at a minimum.”1 Therefore, an objective measurement is one in which there is reasonable intertester (interobserver) reliability. Kerlinger even describes a strategy that can be used to increase the likelihood of obtaining objective measurements: Objective methods of observations are those in which anyone following the prescribed rules will assign the same numerals to objects and sets of objects as anyone else.1 All too often the term objective is applied to a measurement that someone thinks highly of, whereas subjective is used in a derogatory fashion to demean a measurement.