Deck 5: Conceptualization Operationalization and Measurement

Question 1

Professor Myth asked respondents whether or not they had ever been divorced.One year later Professor Myth asked the same respondents the same question.Myth found that with repeated applications of the measure different responses were obtained for the same respondent.This means that the measuring instrument was:

A)reliable.
B)invalid.
C)unreliable or the value on the variable had changed.
D)lacking face validity.
E)inaccurate.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Hudson et al.developed a series of questions to examine sexual attitudes (SAS).The SAS scores of religious fundamentalists-a group believed to be conservative regarding sexual expression-were compared with the scores of social work graduate students-a group believed to be liberal regarding sexual expression.The researchers were examining the instrument's:

A)split-half reliability.
B)split-half validity.
C)criterion-related validity.
D)criterion reliability.
E)construct validity.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Conceptions are:

A)empirical measurements.
B)variables.
C)mental images.
D)hypotheses.
E)definitions.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Considering the fact that low marital satisfaction should lead to divorce,Professor Rogers checked his measure of marital satisfaction by examining whether couples with low marital satisfaction scores got divorced and those with high levels of marital satisfaction were still married? This illustrates the use of:

A)criterion-related validity.
B)face validity.
C)content validity.
D)construct validity.
E)test-retest validity.

Question 5

A measure of religiosity that is extremely consistent,but is actually targeting the respondent's political affiliation could be considered:

A)partially reliable,completely valid.
B)valid and reliable.
C)not valid,but reliable.
D)neither valid nor reliable.
E)valid,but not reliable.

Question 6

Which of the following is a nominal variable?

A)Education
B)Age
C)Employment status
D)Occupational prestige
E)One needs to know the attributes to determine the level of measurement

Question 7

Most social scientists would not accept the conceptualization of prejudice as foot size because such a measurement lacks:

A)precision.
B)reliability.
C)accuracy.
D)validity.
E)all of these choices.

Question 8

Dr.Ross is looking to examine if the indicators that make up her measurement of romantic attraction are truly related to one another and make for an accurate representation of the variable she is researching.What sort of validity is she examining?

A)Split-half validity
B)Face validity
C)Criterion-related validity
D)Content validity
E)Construct validity

Question 9

Professor Smith gave an exam on Monday.On Wednesday Smith gave the same class the same exam.Professor Smith was clearly interested in assessing the exam's:

A)reliability.
B)validity.
C)face validity.
D)conceptualization.
E)precision.

Question 10

Which of the following is a(n)sign of the presence or absence of the concept that one is studying.?

A)Indicator
B)Concept
C)Direct observable
D)Indirect observable
E)Dependent variable

Question 11

A complete conceptualization involves:

A)specifying dimensions only.
B)specifying indicators only.
C)specifying dimensions and identifying the various indicators of each dimension.
D)specifying indicators and identifying the various dimensions of each indicator.
E)specifying variables and their attributes.

Question 12

Professor Spence decided to define socioeconomic status as a combination of income and education.Spence then determined the questions to be asked in a survey and the categories of responses.Spence was assigning socioeconomic status:

A)a nominal definition only.
B)an operational and a real definition.
C)a real definition only.
D)a nominal and a real definition.
E)a nominal and an operational definition.

Question 13

A level of measurement describing a variable whose attributes are rank-ordered and have equal distances between adjacent attributes are measures.

A)ratio
B)interval
C)ordinal
D)nominal
E)theoretical

Question 14

The specification of concepts in scientific inquiry depends on:

A)nominal,operational,and real definitions.
B)real definitions.
C)nominal and operational definitions.
D)nominal and real definitions.
E)operational and real definitions.

Question 15

A nominal definition:

A)is a statement of the essential nature of some entity.
B)is a statement detailing what will be involved in measuring some entity.
C)is a statement that allows us to observe some entity.
D)is a statement that assigns a definition to a concept.
E)none of these choices.

Question 16

A measurement of personality that produces observable,correct results,but that are not consistent would be considered:

A)valid and reliable.
B)valid,but not reliable.
C)not valid,but reliable.
D)neither valid nor reliable.
E)partially valid,fully reliable.

Question 17

A survey question asking voters which political party they are affiliated with (Democrat,Republican,Independent)would be considered:

A)mutually exclusive.
B)exhaustive.
C)interchangeable.
D)a ratio scale.
E)an ordinal scale.

Question 18

Reliability is:

A)a matter of whether a particular technique,applied repeatedly to the same object,would yield the same results each time
B)a matter of ensuring accuracy alone
C)a matter of ensuring that the measure measures what one thinks it should measure
D)a matter of ensuring precision alone
E)a matter of ensuring both accuracy and precision

Question 19

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:

A)the use of single or multiple indicators.
B)how observations are going to be made.
C)the specific dimensions of the variable to be studied.
D)the relevant range of variations.
E)the degree of precision needed between extremes.

Question 20

Which of the following sequences illustrates the progression of measurement steps in a fully structured scientific study?

A)Conceptualization,nominal definition,operational definition,and measurements in the real world
B)Nominal definition,conceptualization,operational definition,and measurements in the real world
C)Operational definition,conceptualization,nominal definition,and measurements in the real world
D)Nominal definition,operationalization,conceptualization,and real-world measurements
E)Conceptualization,operationalization,nominal definition,and real-world measurements

Question 21

Conceptualization is the development of research procedures that will result in empirical observations representing those concepts in the real world.

Question 22

Sarah has compiled a list of 40 indicators of prejudice and its dimensions.She finds that women are more prejudiced than men on some of the indicators but not on others.Sarah should:

A)check to see if the two sets of indicators represent different dimensions of prejudice.
B)conclude the women are more prejudiced than men.
C)throw out the 40 indicators and start over.
D)conclude that there was an error in her analysis.
E)get a new sample.

Question 23

When we fall into the trap of believing that terms have real meanings we are guilty of:

A)reification.
B)measurements that lack reliability.
C)measurements that lack validity.
D)confusing reliability with validity.
E)confusing validity with reliability.

Question 24

Dr.Jones is developing a research study in which he plans to use the length of a participant's ring finger to determine mathematical prowess.At the most basic level,his indicator fails which test for validity?

A)Face validity
B)Content validity
C)Predictive validity
D)Criterion-related validity
E)Construct validity

Question 25

Professor Salton created the categories of less than 20 hours,20 hours to 40 hours,40 hours to 60 hours,and 60 hours or more for the variable "number of hours employed outside the home." The attributes in Salton's scheme represents:

A)a nominal measure.
B)mutually exclusive measure.
C)exhaustive measure.
D)an ordinal measure.
E)mutually exclusive and exhaustive measure.

Question 26

Precision and accuracy are synonyms.

Question 27

Even if a pre-existing measure of a construct of interest exists,it is a better idea to create your own so you understand it better.

Question 28

A researcher entering gender data collected from a mailed survey is working with:

A)constructs.
B)direct observables.
C)indirect observables.
D)reification.
E)a conceptualization.

Question 29

What is the lowest level of measurement in which there is an exact difference between attribute values?

A)Nominal
B)Interval
C)Ratio
D)Ordinal
E)All of these choices

Question 30

If a measure is reliable,it must also be valid.

Question 31

Validity refers to the extent to which an empirical measure adequately reflects the real meaning of the concept under consideration.

Question 32

Professor Tilton measured the variable "feelings toward drafting women" with the categories strongly agree,agree,indifferent,disagree,and strongly disagree.Professor Tilton was using the level of measurement.

A)nominal
B)interval
C)ratio
D)ordinal
E)not enough information to decide

Question 33

Professor Miller argues that there are three dimensions to the quality of a relationship (belonging/affirmation,interdependence,and intimacy).Miller designed an instrument to measure quality of a relationship.She notices that no items in the instrument tap the intimacy dimension.Her measure lacks:

A)reliability.
B)content validity.
C)predictive validity.
D)construct validity.
E)internal consistency.

Question 34

Classifying someone as employed or not employed treats employment as:

A)a ratio variable.
B)an interval variable.
C)an ordinal variable.
D)a nominal variable.
E)a dependent variable.

Question 35

Which of the following is NOT a means of assessing the reliability of measuring devices?

A)Test-retest
B)Split-half
C)Construct-correlation
D)Using established measures
E)Using reliable research workers

Question 36

Verifying the validity of a measurement using an outside source of information,such as SAT scores or GPA when examining a measure of academic performance is using:

A)face validity.
B)construct validity.
C)criterion-related validity.
D)content validity.
E)correlational validity.

Question 37

Professor Tyler wrote a proposal to study the impact of authoritarianism on child rearing practices.She began her research by reviewing the meaning of authoritarianism.Based on this review,she formulated her own definition of authoritarianism.This process illustrates:

A)operationalization.
B)the interchangeability of indicators.
C)conceptualization.
D)validity assessment.
E)reliability assessment.

Question 38

Jeremy can't decide whether he should ask people whether they "very strongly agree," "agree," "disagree," "very strongly disagree" or whether they simply "agree" or "disagree" with statements about the war in Iraq.Jeremy is dealing with the problem of:

A)whether to use single or multiple indicators of a concept.
B)the range of variation.
C)whether to use a ratio or ordinal measurement.
D)whether to use a ratio or interval measurement.
E)whether to use single or multiple dimensions.

Question 39

Shipley developed a NEW test to measure IQ.Using his test,someone with an IQ of 180 would be considered twice as intelligent as someone with an IQ of 90 and someone with an IQ of 90 was three times as intelligent as someone with an IQ of 30.Shipley's test treats IQ as a(n):

A)nominal variable.
B)interval variable.
C)ratio variable.
D)ordinal variable.
E)none of these choices.

Question 40

The variable "educational level" of students was measured as last year in the school was completed (i.e. ,by using attributes such as none,1st,2nd,3rd,grades,etc. )This type of measurement falls under measures.

A)nominal
B)interval
C)ratio
D)ordinal
E)not enough information to decide

Question 41

A split-half reliability test taps the idea of the general stability of the instrument over time.

Question 42

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

Question 43

Numbers assigned to ranks on an ordinal scale can legitimately be added,multiplied,subtracted,and divided.

Question 44

The test-retest method assumes that the phenomena under study does not change.

Question 45

Please conceptualize child abuse (or another abstract concept of your choice).What indicators would you use to measure the concept? Are there dimensions to the concept?

Question 46

If unsure as a researcher how specific a measurement needs to be,it is best to be more general to simplify data collection.

Question 47

As an extension of the previous question ask the students to evaluate their measurement in terms of validity.What do they think might be some potential shortcomings,or how does their measurement meet the requirements for validity?

Question 48

It is impossible to have several indicators of only one concept.

Question 49

Definitions are more problematic for descriptive research than for explanatory research.

Question 50

Changing definitions almost inevitably results in different descriptive conclusions.

Question 51

Precise measurement is more important than accurate measurement.

Question 52

How would you measure family size at the nominal,ordinal,and ratio levels?

Question 53

Number of arrests would be an example of an interval measurement

Question 54

A nominal measure can have only two categories.

Question 55

One only need a nominal definition of a concept before beginning the process of data collection

Question 56

Predictive validity is often used as another term for criterion-related validity.