Exam 4: Conceptualization and Measurement

When conducting a survey, researchers may often create two versions of the questionnaire. They may vary the order of the questions or slight wording of the questions. They then divide the sample into two equal sub-samples and administer each version. When surveys are collected, answers on the two different questionnaires are compared to determine:

Develop a conceptualized definition of terrorism, making certain to consider the potential dimensions of the concept (and therefore construct validity). Write an index that measures this concept with closed ended questions.

Concepts have meanings that are understood well by almost all members of a population.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using single questions rather than multidimensional index scores to measure concepts?

Which of the following is a synonym for the social scientific meaning of the work "operation"?

Which of the following is an example of a variable measured at the ordinal level of measurement?

Construct validity measures how well something is measured in comparison with:

Reliability is a prerequisite for measurement validity.

What is triangulation? Why is triangulated measurement superior to single forms of measurement?

An open-ended question is designed with explicit response choices.

Roth (1989: 148-149) defined homelessness as follows in her Ohio study: "In this study a person was defined as homeless if he/she sleeps/lives in: (1) limited or no shelter for any length of time (for example, those seeking shelter under bridges, inside door stoops, in cars, in abandoned buildings, in a bus station or all-night café, or in any public facility); (2) shelters or missions, run by religious organizations or public agencies for any length of time (facilities that are specifically for homeless people. Are run on a drop-in basis and charge no fee or a minimal fee, including the Salvation Army, Volunteers of America, and Open Shelter of Columbus); (3) cheap hotels or motels when actual length of stay, or the intent to stay, is 45 days or less; and (4) other unique situations that do not fall into the above categories and when the actual length of stay, or the intent of stay, is 45 days or less (for example, staying with family and friends, living in tent cities, or spending a night in jail)." Rewrite Roth's definition so that it is more succinct and conceptual and less operational. Next, rewrite your conceptual definition with as much level of operational detail as in Roth's definition, but without repeating the specifics of the original definition. What ambiguities remain in your definition that might confuse a research assistant trying to apply the definition in the field?

Inter-observer reliability occurs when different observers:

When are open-ended questions more appropriate than closed-ended questions? Describe scenarios where each would be appropriate for studying one of the following concepts: deviance, romance, educational quality, economic development.

Using archived (preexisting) data is a type of unobtrusive measure.

Samples of individuals who use social media such as Facebook are representative of the whole population.

When researchers measure an unchanging phenomenon at two different times, the degree to which the two measurements are related is called:

Which of the following is true about indexes but false about scales?

Inter-item reliability should occur when using multiple indicators of a single concept.

Which of the following is not a type of unobtrusive measure?

Which of the following is an example of a variable measured at the ratio level of measurement?