Exam 4: Conceptualization and Measurement

Which of the following is NOT true about the term concept?

Close-ended or fixed-choice questions align with quantitative research because these types of questions rely on response choices that are preformulated.

Reliability is the same thing as consistency.

A measure of blood-alcohol concentration or a urine test could serve as the ______ for validating a self-report measure of drinking, as long as the questions we ask about drinking refer to the same time period.

______ refers to the process of evaluating the reliability and validity of measures about individuals, whereas the process ______ refers to organizations, neighborhoods, or collective units.

Criterion validity can be established when the scores obtained on one measure can be accurately compared to those obtained with a more direct or already validated measure of the same phenomenon. Provide two examples of additional measure that you feel could be used to valid findings on self-reported criminal activity.

Operationalization refers to the set of rules and operations used to find the value of cases on a variable.

Imagine you created a survey to examine binge drinking on your campus. You asked respondents directly if they engaged in binge drinking. Once you started analyzing the results you realized what you were attempting to measure was not reflected in the question you asked. Which type of validity was not achieved in your study and why? Why is achieving this validity important? What question could you ask instead and what would rules would you use to say that a person engaged in binge drinking?

Which of the following is a reliability measure commonly used to measure interitem reliability?

Interval and ratio levels involve continuous measures.

Imagine you are a researcher that wants to study substance abuse. First of all, you need to decide what you mean by the term substance abuse. For example, describe which substances would be included in your definition and what do you mean by abuse (e.g., number of days of using substances, only when using multiple substances at once). What kinds of questions would you ask and what is your operational definition?

Explain at least one similarity and one difference between intraobserver and interobserver reliability. Then describe why interobserver reliability may greatly increase our confidence in a measure.

Say that you wanted to know about perceptions of crime on campus compared to perceptions of crime on other campuses. Suggest a fixed-choice question that you would ask, including the answer choices, and then suggest an open-ended question. Provide at least two benefits to using each of the different types of questions, and also one challenge for each.

The distinction between criterion and construct validation is always clear.

Define face validity and content validity. Provide an example of how we can develop questions or procedures that would address each type of validity. Then highlight at least one disadvantage and advantage for each type of validity.

A reliable measure is not always a valid measure.

In deductive research, the process of conceptualization ______.

Physical trace evidence, archives, and contrived observations are all unobtrusive measures because they ______.

Which of the following refers to the validation approach of construct validity?

Dr. Williams solicited the opinions of experts and review literature that identifies the different aspects of the concept of substance abuse. Dr. Williams was working to establish which type of validity?