What is baseline measurement?

In workplace health and safety, a baseline study is one that looks at study characteristics at a particular time or under a particular set of conditions to establish a "base line." This could be the incidence rate of a particular condition, the airborne concentration of a contaminant, or any of a number of other items.

Subsequent studies of the same or similar workplaces at different times or under different circumstances will be conducted to see if there are changes as compared to that "base line." Then the researcher will attempt to determine whether the changes were related to any of the differing circumstances.