Stephen Senn had a good journal article on this issue of measurement.
In rehabilitation science, I’m seeing an uncritical acceptance of psychometric procedures to “validate” clinical assessments. I’m having questions about the actual predictive validity of these in the typical clinic. Joel Michell has been making an argument on the ordinal nature of psychological constructs for a long time, with this paper being the best introduction to his outlook.
Similar, independent observations were noted by Norman Cliff, another psychometrician.
Cliff, N (1992) Article Commentary: Abstract Measurement Theory and the Revolution that Never Happened. Psychological Science.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-9280.1992.tb00024.x
Finally, I’ve always appreciated re-reading this paper by David Hand on the intersection of measurement theory with statistics:
Hand, D. (1996) Statistics and the Theory of Measurement Journal of the Royal Statistical Society
@llynn The problem of rating scales as outcome variables for RCTs was discussed in the context of neurology, with a good introduction to the complexities of using these scales in studies.
Hobbart, J; et al (2007) Rating scales as outcome measures for clinical trials in neurology: problems, solutions, and recommendations The Lancet Neurology, Volume 7, Issue 1, January 2008,