Exam 5: Conceptualization, operationalization, and Measurement

Select one of the following concepts.How would you conceptualize it? Are there dimensions to the concept? How would you operationalize the concept? Give examples of some of your indicators and explain its level of measurement. a. alienation b. poverty c. modernization

The level of measurement in a research study only impacts the theory being used

Measuring how people feel about proposed income tax hikes when you really want to know how well informed they are on the proposal is a problem of operationalization concerning

In order to determine if his uncle is a psychopath,Jerry interviews his uncle,who has a long criminal record.He compares the interview with other corroborating information (e.g.police reports,interviews with other family members and friends,etc),and applies the information to the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (a well-known 20-item scale for measuring psychopathy developed by a criminologist).In using a scale to determine whether his uncle is a psychopath,Jerry is studying ____________.

The split-half technique for assessing reliability is closely linked to the concept of the interchangeability of indicators.

Unlike other elements of a research study,the level of measurement has no ethical considerations.

The Ethics of Measurement states that it is important that the conceptualization and measurement process be free from bias and preferences for research outcomes.Give four examples where the ethics of particular forms of the measurement process can be called into question.

When you are worried about whether you will get the same results if you repeat your experiment again in the future,you are worried about _________.

How would you measure each of the following variables using two different levels of measurement? a. age b. income c. family size

Achieving validity is more important than achieving reliability.

A nominal measure can have only two categories.

Juan wanted to be particularly careful to represent all levels of feelings about how ethical members of Congress are.So,instead of just asking how much respondents agreed with a statement that "Members of Congress are ethical," he instead asked for responses ranging from "Members are completely unethical" to "Members are always very ethical." Juan was responding to which operationalization choice?

Indicators can be interchanged with one another because:

Validity refers to the link between the operational and conceptual definitions.