Exam 5: Measurement

Several studies have shown that feelings of empathy motivate altruistic behavior. The 2002 GSS showed a correlation of .19 between the Davis Empathy Scale and a composite measure of altruistic behavior based on whether respondents had engaged in 15 different activities during the past year. Among these activities were giving directions, giving money to charity, helping carry a stranger's belongings, and donating blood. This modest association may reflect difficulties in measuring altruistic behavior. Identify two possible sources of error in the GSS measure of altruistic behavior and carefully explain how each could introduce random or systematic measurement error.

By reporting that scores on his Love Scale were correlated with the feeling of being "in love," Zick Rubin provided evidence of the scale's

Operational definitions are intended to capture the meaning of conceptual definitions.

Suppose a researcher asks the exact same question at two different points in a lengthy interview, near the beginning and near the end. If respondents give the same answer each time the question is asked, this supports the question's

Evidence that scores on the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale are associated, as expected, with measures of depression and peer popularity supports the scale's

One empirical indicator is as good as another.

Correlations among different measures of the same concept are evidence of the measures' discriminant validity.

All of the following combinations of reliability and validity are possible except

The most common form of social measurement is direct observation.

In contrast to criterion-related validity, construct validity is important to assess when

In nominal measurement, the numbers assigned to categories may be added together but not multiplied.

Which of the following statements is true regarding the assessment of measurement validity?

Class rank in a graduation class is an example of ratio measurement.

Suppose we measured length of residence by asking people, "How many years have you lived at your present address?" This constitutes __________-level measurement.

Some sociologists define "formalization" as the extent of regulation in an organization. In one study this was indicated by the number of the following types of documents that organizations had created: written employment contracts, information booklets, an organization chart, written job descriptions, and a manual of procedures. The total count of documents is an example of

A researcher interested in measuring religiosity first defines the meaning and identifies possible dimensions of this concept. Which step in the measurement process does this represent?

The logic of construct validation is based on all of the following except

Suppose you used a single questionnaire item to measure a particular concept. Which of the following methods could not be used to assess its reliability or validity?

Correlations among different measures of the same concept are evidence of the measures' convergent validity.

Internal consistency is used to assess the reliability of single-item measures.