This discussion centers on two desiderata: the role of measurement in information-gathering and physical interaction in scientific practice. By taking inspiration from van Fraassen’s (2008) view, we present a methodological account of perspectival measurement that addresses empirical practice where there is complex intervention, disagreeing results, and limited theory. The specific aim of our account is to provide a methodological prescription for developing measurement processes in the context of limited theory. The account should be useful to philosophers of science, who are interested in the intersection between representation and intervention; scientists, who are interested in methodological suggestions for theory-development and reliability; and interdisciplinary researchers, who are interested in the intersections between the pandemic, built environments, and social processes. We apply the process-view of measurement to COVID-19, specifically, measuring replication in the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The aim is to show that our account tracks key elements—manipulation/intervention, independence, invariance, and theory-development—by organizing unfolding measurement processes. Additionally, we use our account to make prescriptive suggestions for measurement practice in the COVID-19 context by discussing the need to broaden measurement perspective on interaction, manipulation, and production.

本讨论集中在两个迫切需要的问题：测量在信息收集中的作用和科学实践中的物理交互。通过从 van Fraassen (2008) 的观点中汲取灵感，我们提出了一种透视测量的方法论解释，解决了存在复杂干预、不一致结果和有限理论的经验实践。我们的具体目标是为在有限的理论背景下开发测量过程提供方法论规定。这种解释对于科学哲学家来说应该是有用的，他们对表征和干预之间的交叉点感兴趣；对理论发展和可靠性的方法建议感兴趣的科学家；以及跨学科研究人员，他们对流行病、建筑环境和社会进程之间的交叉点感兴趣。我们将测量过程视图应用于 COVID-19，特别是测量 SARS-CoV-2 病毒的复制。目的是表明我们的账户通过组织展开的测量过程来跟踪关键要素——操纵/干预、独立性、不变性和理论发展。此外，我们还利用我们的账户，通过讨论扩大交互、操作和生产测量视角的必要性，为 COVID-19 背景下的测量实践提出规范性建议。