On a Measure of the Information Provided by an Experiment

Abstract

A measure is introduced of the information provided by an experiment. The measure is derived from the work of Shannon [10] and involves the knowledge prior to performing the experiment, expressed through a prior probability distribution over the parameter space. The measure is used to compare some pairs of experiments without reference to prior distributions; this method of comparison is contrasted with the methods discussed by Blackwell. Finally, the measure is applied to provide a solution to some problems of experimental design, where the object of experimentation is not to reach decisions but rather to gain knowledge about the world.