Open assessment method: Difference between revisions

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[[Category:Open assessment]]
{{method|Open assessment}}
[[category:Kuopio Risk Assessment Workshop 2008]]
[[Category:Glossary term]]
'''Open assessment''' (OA) {{reslink|Rename ORA into OA}} is a description of a particular situation. It has been produced in the internet using a process where stakeholders and other people have been able to participate. They have been given an opportunity to comment and edit its contents already from an early phase of the process.
<section begin=glossary />
:'''Open assessment''' (previously also known as '''pyrkilo''') is a method that attempts to answer the following research question and to apply the answer in practical assessments:
::'''How can scientific information and value judgements be organised for improving societal decision-making in a situation where open participation is allowed?'''
:[[Open assessment]] can also refer to the actual making of such an assessment (precisely: open assessment process), or the end product of the process (precisely: open assessment product or report). Usually, the use of the term open assessment is clear, but if there is a danger of confusion, the precise term (open assessment method, process, or product) should be used. In practice, the assessment processes are performed using Internet tools (notably [[Opasnet]]) among traditional tools. Stakeholders and other interested people are able to participate, comment, and edit its contents already since an early phase of the process. Open assessment is based on a clear information structure and [[:en:scientific method|scientific method]] as the ultimate rule for [[dealing with disputes]].<section end=glossary />{{reslink|Rename ORA into OA}}


==Structure of an open assessment==
==Scope==


===Variables===
How can scientific information and value judgements be organised for improving societal decision-making in a situation where open participation is allowed?


'''Variables''' are the basic building blocks of an open assessment. They describe some real-world things such as emissions of a pollutant, number of health effects due to a certain exposure in a population, or costs of a policy intervention. Variables are connected to each other with links that indicate a causal connection. The variables and the links together form a causal diagram that is the skeleton of an open assessment.
==Definition==


Some variables have a special meaning or purpose. ''Indicators'' are outcome variables that are the main interest of the open assessment, i.e. their values are the actual result of the open assessment. ''Policy options'' are variables that describe a group of possible actions such as installing (or not installing) a filter to the end of a smoke stack. All other variables are basically needed to estimate, how the policy options considered will affect the indicators. This information is then used in the subsequent decision-making.  
* There must be a clear and universal information structure.  
* The method must be based on individual objects that have a research question. The essence of each object is to try and find such an answer to the question that holds against scientific criticism.


===Attributes===
==Result==


{{Template:Attributes of a variable}}
* There must be a clear information structure.
 
** To operationalise the information structure, there must individual objects that each belong to a group of objects defined by a [[universal object]]. For discussion about what these objects should be, see [[Universal object]].
===Categories===
* All objects must be subject to the [[:en:scientific method|scientific method]]. (A method of discovering knowledge about the natural world based in making falsifiable predictions (hypotheses), testing them empirically, and developing peer-reviewed theories that best explain the known data [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/scientific_method]).
 
** To operationalise the scientific method, [[:en:Pragma-dialectics|pragma-dialectical argumentation theory]] is applied for discussions.
'''Categories''' are used to manage the variables. Each variable can belong to one or more categories. Each category can also belong to one or more categories that are more general the itself. As an example, a variable ''Fine particle concentration in Helsinki'' belongs to a category ''Fine particles'', which belongs to a category ''Air pollutants''. Categories are used in the same way as in Wikipedia [[en:Help:Categories]]. However, there some specific categories that should be used systematically to categorise variables ORAs. Each variable shold belong to one of these categories, or their subcategories. The main categories are described below.
*[[:Category:Activities | Activities]] describe any human activity that result in releases of  pollutants or other hazards into the environment.
*[[:Category:Releases | Releases]] describe releases of  pollutants or other hazards into the environment.
*[[:Category:Pollutants | Pollutants]] describe what the pollutants or other hazards are. All variables that relate to a particular pollutant should be indexed with the category of that pollutant, and that category should be indexed to Pollutants.
*[[:Category:Concentrations in the environment | Concentrations in the environment]] describe
*[[:Category:Exposures | Exposures]]
*[[:Category:Health effects | Health effects]] exposure-reponse functions and health effects in humans.
*[[:Category:Costs and valuations|Costs and valuations]] describes value-laden summaries of health and other effects.

Revision as of 08:21, 2 October 2008

<section begin=glossary />

Open assessment (previously also known as pyrkilo) is a method that attempts to answer the following research question and to apply the answer in practical assessments:
How can scientific information and value judgements be organised for improving societal decision-making in a situation where open participation is allowed?
Open assessment can also refer to the actual making of such an assessment (precisely: open assessment process), or the end product of the process (precisely: open assessment product or report). Usually, the use of the term open assessment is clear, but if there is a danger of confusion, the precise term (open assessment method, process, or product) should be used. In practice, the assessment processes are performed using Internet tools (notably Opasnet) among traditional tools. Stakeholders and other interested people are able to participate, comment, and edit its contents already since an early phase of the process. Open assessment is based on a clear information structure and scientific method as the ultimate rule for dealing with disputes.<section end=glossary />R↻

Scope

How can scientific information and value judgements be organised for improving societal decision-making in a situation where open participation is allowed?

Definition

  • There must be a clear and universal information structure.
  • The method must be based on individual objects that have a research question. The essence of each object is to try and find such an answer to the question that holds against scientific criticism.

Result

  • There must be a clear information structure.
    • To operationalise the information structure, there must individual objects that each belong to a group of objects defined by a universal object. For discussion about what these objects should be, see Universal object.
  • All objects must be subject to the scientific method. (A method of discovering knowledge about the natural world based in making falsifiable predictions (hypotheses), testing them empirically, and developing peer-reviewed theories that best explain the known data [1]).